Workplace bullying in medical residents: frequency and associated factors

Abstract

Introduction: Postgraduate medical education takes place in real clinical settings, requiring full-time commitment, continuous supervision, extended shifts, high academic and healthcare standards. Mobbing, also known as workplace bullying, involves persistent harassing behaviors that create a hostile work environment, negatively impacting physical and mental health, academic performance and retention of medical residents. Objective: To describe the frequency of workplace bullying and certain associated factors among medical residents. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Hospital Universitario de Caracas (HUC). Non-probabilistic, purposive convenience sampling was used. A survey was applied, which included the Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terrorization (LIPT-60). Results: A total of 48.3 % (n = 201) of the enrolled residents at HUC participated. The frequency of workplace bullying was distributed across high (6.5 %), moderate (31.8 %), low (18.9%), and very low (42.8%) levels. No significant differences were observed based on sociodemographic variables or residency training year. Workplace bullying was associated with the type of specialty (Chi² = 13.3; p = 0.004), occurring with greater frequency in surgical versus clinical programs. The most frequently reported dimensions were covert intimidation and personal discredit. The main perpetrators were faculty/attending physicians and senior residents. Only 16% reported the incidents. Conclusions: More than one-third (38.3 %) of medical residents were classified as high or moderate level of workplace bullying. These results highlight the need to strengthen prevention, early detection, faculty/physicians development programs and institutional mechanisms for support, protection, and reporting.