Increasing Reporting of Intimidation of Medical Students With Simulation

NCT03184142 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 16.422
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 129
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Intimidation of medical students by health care professionals is a well-documented phenomenon. Raising awareness of what constitutes intimidation is a preferred method for preventing it through increased reporting. Simulation is a novel method of raising awareness of intimidation. This is a randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of simulation (involving actors), an educational video and no intervention, as adjuncts to group discussion, on students' ability to identify and report intimidation. Medical students from the University of Montreal in Montreal, Canada, will be recruited at the beginning of surgical clerkship. They will complete a standardized and validated pre-intervention questionnaire on their experience with intimidation consisting of multiple choice questions and short answers. They will be randomised to one of the three interventions lasting 70 minutes that will be followed by a 20-minute standardized discussion on intimidation with all students participating together. At the end of their surgical rotation, they will complete a similar post-intervention questionnaire with additional questions pertaining to the reporting of intimidation. Differences in intimidation reporting after the intervention as well as a before and after comparison of the "Negative Acts Questionnaire" score will be studied.

Conditions

Intimidation

Keywords

Intimidation; Simulation; Medical education; Surgical education

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Comfort in reporting intimidation

  Based on post-intervention questionnaire question.

  6 weeks after enrollment

• Perception of intimidation after intervention

  Based on post-intervention Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ-R)

  6 weeks after enrollment

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Baseline prevalence of intimidation

  at enrollment

• Before and after comparison

  at enrollment vs 6 weeks post-intervention

• Reasons for not reporting intimidation

  at enrollment

• Frequency of intimidation reporting

  6 weeks post-intervention

Study Arms (3)

Simulation

EXPERIMENTAL

During a suturing class at the simulation center, the students enter a classroom. Although the students are not aware of this, among them is an actor playing the role of a student. One of the two professors is also an actor. As the activity progresses, the professor targets the student played by an actor. The intimidation intensifies until the end. At the end of the activity, there is a debriefing explaining to the students that the bullying professor and the victim were actors.

Behavioral: Simulation

Video

EXPERIMENTAL

During a suturing class at the simulation center, after 55 minutes of suturing, the students will be exposed to a 15-minute video on workplace and hospital intimidation and how to manage it.

Behavioral: Video

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

During a suturing class at the simulation center, the students suture for the entire 70-minute duration of the activity. They are not exposed to intimidation (control group).

Behavioral: Control group

Interventions

Simulation BEHAVIORAL

Students witness the intimidation of one of their peers (who is an actor) by a professor (also an actor). (see arm description)

Simulation

Video BEHAVIORAL

Student watch a 15-minute intimidation video (see arm description).

Video

Control group BEHAVIORAL

No intervention. The students suture for 70 minutes

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Medical students at the University of Montreal at the beginning of their surgical clerkship rotation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM): lead

Study Sites (1)

Faculté de Médecine de l'Université de Montréal

Montreal, Quebec, H3T 1J4, Canada

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Stone JP, Charette JH, McPhalen DF, Temple-Oberle C. Under the knife: medical student perceptions of intimidation and mistreatment. J Surg Educ. 2015 Jul-Aug;72(4):749-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2015.02.003.

  PMID: 26073477 BACKGROUND

• Isaranuwatchai W, Brydges R, Carnahan H, Backstein D, Dubrowski A. Comparing the cost-effectiveness of simulation modalities: a case study of peripheral intravenous catheterization training. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2014 May;19(2):219-32. doi: 10.1007/s10459-013-9464-6. Epub 2013 Jun 1.

  PMID: 23728476 BACKGROUND

• Curtis MT, DiazGranados D, Feldman M. Judicious use of simulation technology in continuing medical education. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2012 Fall;32(4):255-60. doi: 10.1002/chp.21153.

  PMID: 23280528 BACKGROUND

• Einarsen S, Helge H, Notelaers G. Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: validity, factor structure & psychometric properties of the negative acts questionnaire-revised. Work Stress 23(1):24-44, 2009.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Videotape Recording; Control Groups

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Tape Recording; Audiovisual Aids; Educational Technology; Technology; Technology, Industry, and Agriculture; Television; Epidemiologic Research Design; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Research Design; Methods

Study Officials

• Erica Patocskai, MD

  Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Students cannot be masked as an arm undergoes a simulation intervention. The researcher evaluating the outcomes through the questionnaires will be blinded.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Surgical Oncologist, Director of surgical Clerkship

Model Details: Single-blind randomised controlled trial with two experimental arms and a control arm

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 8, 2017
• First Posted: June 12, 2017
• Study Start: June 15, 2017
• Primary Completion: December 21, 2017
• Study Completion: December 21, 2017
• Last Updated: May 9, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)