Teaching by intimidation: medical students’ perspective

The clinical years of medical school place a large importance on “bedside teaching”. Students, often in front of their peers, are expected to demonstrate their knowledge and are pushed until gaps in that knowledge are bridged. However, the environment in 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 in the manner that they were taught. Students describe this as an intimidating questioning style overridden by a hostile attitude aimed at belittling the learner whilst reinforcing a dominant hierarchy.1,2 Although its persistence may be evidence of its inherent success, the approach certainly has as its detractions