Prevalence of Bullying Among Medical Science Students in Clinical Practice

Introduction: Bullying within clinical education settings presents a significant barrier to student learning and can result in serious psychological harm. This research was undertaken to ascertain how frequently bullying occurs among medical students during their clinical education. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was carried out between ۲۰۱۹ and ۲۰۲۰ among students of medicine, undergraduate nursing, midwifery, operating room technology, and anesthesiology. The study setting included selected teaching hospitals affiliated with Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Stratified random sampling was used to select participants. Data collection was performed using the ۱۸-item Bullying Behaviors in Nursing Education (BBNE) questionnaire, and the results were analyzed with SPSS version ۲۴. Results: Of the ۳۹۱ participants, the majority (۶۱.۹%) were women, single, with an average age of ۲۲.۸۸±۱.۷۱ years. The total bullying score was ۱۶.۴۶±۱۳.۴۴, which was considered low on the range of ۰-۹۰. The dimension of aggression towards the student's personality had the highest score of ۷.۲۹±۶.۵۴. A significant relationship existed between the total bullying score and age, field of study, marital status, place of residence, and semester (P<۰.۰۵). Conclusion and Discussion: The results show that bullying is relatively uncommon among medical students. However, students in fields such as medicine and anesthesiology tend to experience bullying more frequently compared to other disciplines. Moreover, individuals who are married, older, or have higher levels of education appear to be at greater risk of being targeted. It is important for universities to enhance students’ ability to identify bullying in clinical training environments and teach them appropriate ways to response.