Teaching by intimidation: medical students' perspective

Anmol Bipin Patel, Harkaran Singh KalkatDepartment of Undergraduate Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UKThe clinical years of medical school place a large importance on "bedside teaching".Students, often in front of their peers, are expected to demonstrate their knowledgeand are pushed until gaps in that knowledge are bridged. However, the environmentin which these sessions take place may not always be conducive to effective learning.Teaching by intimidation, also known as "pimping", has long had a place in traditional medical education and is perpetuated by each generation of doctors teaching inthe manner that they were taught. Students describe this as an intimidating questioningstyle overridden by a hostile attitude aimed at belittling the learner whilstreinforcing a dominant hierarchy.1,2 Although its persistence may be evidence of itsinherent success, the approach certainly has as its detractions.