Send Your Daughters to Medical School to Become Victims of Sexual Harrassment!

Welcome to the Hall of Shame!—American Medical Colleges

One of the contributors to my book is a medical student. Her story is very troubling. She is a victim of sexual harassment. She complained. She became the victim of her whistle blowing. She is now on leave (possibly permanent), fighting to regain her rightful place in an educational environment that she insists must be free from harassment.

Her bravery is only eclipsed by her tenacity in researching this problem. Is she unique? Or is it systemic? Is this isolated? Or is it pervasive?

In 2008 American Medical Association’s Survey of Women Physicians released in cooperation of with the Women Physicians Congress reported that 28% of women are still “somewhat” or “very concerned” about sexual harassment in the medical work environment. That is more than 1 in 4. Many reported that they had experienced sexual harassment.

Well, I first thought that some of the older women (like me) might be highly sensitized. After all, “being spoken down to due to my gender” or “being told by a male colleague that I was not going to fit in because I am female,” may be thought of as overly sensitive by some. And then I was reminded of the case of Sagun Tuli in Boston.

Harassment by the now-former chair, Dr. Art Day, took forms of belittling remarks (Can a girl do that?) to more blatantly disgusting displays of sexism such as exposing his copy of the Kama Sutra. Yes, some of his patients rightfully and gratefully say that he saved their lives, but does that give him the right to harass anyone?

What about the younger women who are now graduating medical schools? What about their experience? Was my medical student contributor alone? Had things changed?

The unfortunate answer is no. Let’s look at the 2009 data from the Association of American Medical College (AAMC) medical student graduation questionnaire. These answers are from recent graduates. This report is aggregate data based on the responses of about 1200 students. Each medical school gets its own report (get out those foil requests!) Go to page 28 and read on.

Here are a few sample questions:

• Have you ever personally been mistreated during medical school? 17% (204 students) said YES. Steadily rising from 12% in 2005.
• Been asked to exchange sexual favors for grades or other awards? 0.5% said frequently; 1% said occasionally; 0.7% said once—total of 26 students.
• Been subject to unwanted sexual advance by school personnel? 0.9% said frequently; 3.6% said occasionally; 5.9% said once—total 124 students.
• Been subject to offensive sexist remarks/names directed at you personally? 1.8% said frequently; 12.0% said occasionally; 9.9% said once—total 284 students.

To be fair, these numbers have decreased slightly since 2005, however they are well above the expected 0% target requirement. And we cannot assume that all of the respondents are female, though my guess is that they are.

Most revealing is that 20-24% of students are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the school’s handling of the complaint in a non-threatening manner and with appropriate investigation. My medical student contributor is unfortunately not alone. The deal she got was very likely a raw deal.

She is fighting this with what little resources she has. She has taken a loan and found a highly regarded attorney who is accepting a very low, flat fee. Almost unheard of. If any of you out there would like to help her out, please let me know. I am sure she would appreciate it.

So, if you think your daughters, wives, and mothers were safe from harassment in the place where one goes to learn to heal, you are wrong. Shameful, just shameful.