INTIMIDATION: A TOOL OF LEARNING? - DO WE LEARN BETTER UNDER THE GUN?

REVEALING THE UGLY TRUTH AND THE NEED OF INTIMIDATION POLICY

Budi Iman Santoso

“It is difficult to settle or even discuss problems in an atmosphere of intimidation”

(J.F. Kennedy, 35th President of United States, 1917-1963)

Intimidation, harassment or bullying implies the same implication that is to frighten, threat or hurt a weaker
person through any gesture, any written, verbal or physical act including electronic communication. It undermines
the confidence and self-esteem of the recipient. 1-5 Medical literature has documented a high prevalence of
intimidation and harassment in the educational context. Tremendous studies have indicated that intimidation,
bullying, abuse, harassment affect not only medical students, 6-11 but also doctors in training,12-15 doctors
undertaking research,16 and other healthcare professionals. 17 However, those studies have failed to adequately
explain the nature of these phenomena and the ways in which the actors do and the recipients perceive such
behaviors are in question.

The deaneries of some universities in United Kingdom and United States do not tolerate bullying,
harassment or any form of intimidation within under- and postgraduate medical education. 18,19 British Medical
Association is taking appropriate action to prevent intimidation, harassment and bullying within educational
environment by incorporating strategies in the Strategic Health Care Alliance (SHA) policy. 18 In 2011, The New
Jersey Department of Education under a grant from the United States Department of Education has provided the
Law and Strategies Resource Packet on Prevention and Intervention of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying. 5
Nevertheless, some doctors regard these behaviors as part of their natural socialization of a good doctor.
Intimidation of residents and medical students has often been accepted as a salutary rite of passage and some
supervisors feel justified in perpetuating a standard of behavior to which they became inured as students. 20 Some
authors even regard the behavior of intimidation, harassment and bullying as part of learning climate; a kind of
role modeling within the learning environment. 21 The medical community continues to debate the role of such
behavior in education.

Do we really learn better under the gun? Does intimidation bring any advantage in process of learning?
“A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated by man”

(Leonard Ravenhill, Christian Evangelist, Author, 1907-1994)