Three quarters of medical students are taught by routine humiliation in hospitals with almost all students witnessing some form of mistreatment, according to a new study.
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The report, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, found many students were disgusted by their treatment and some regretted entering the medical profession.
Dr Karen Scott, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, said the anonymous survey of 146 students detailed yelling, shouting, cursing and swearing at students on clinical rounds.
"The most prevalent behaviours reported were intimidating questioning styles and subtle behaviours, including teachers being nasty, rude or hostile, or belittling or humiliating students," she said.
But close to half of the students believed the humiliation was beneficial to their careers while most believed doctors were perpetuating a culture of "toughening up" students.
"I understand they think it's good for character and learning, but it just demoralises you and makes you feel defeated and disheartened and not want to show up," one student said.
Another student said there was a culture of "bastardisation" in the medical profession and the humiliation was impacting on morale.
"Had I known it was like this I would never have given up a good job that I loved to do medicine," the student said.
The study found nurses and midwives were commonly named as perpetrators with students reporting the humiliation as "ubiquitous" across all professional groups.
"When thinking about abuse as a cultural matter our attention must be directed toward the culture of hospitals and all health care professionals, not just medicine or medical education."
Dr Scott said the report surveyed medical students in Melbourne and Sydney although the findings were universal and consisted with other studies.
Australian National University Medical Students' Society president Chris Wilder said the humiliation was commonly discussed by students and was a cause for concern.
"If I turned up to university tomorrow and talked to students, I don't think too many would think the results are far off the mark, and that's scary," he said.
"From the people I have spoken to about these issues, there is a disgust and disappointment that this is still occurring."
The report found humiliation was a part of a culture or traditional practice in the medical profession, with the authors referencing the competitive and hierarchical nature of the industry.
"This is still part of the medical culture though I think it is reducing," said one student. "I wonder whether it is the case of some [people] do not know how to educate in any other way."
Mr Wilder said there was an acceptance that students must learn to cope with pressure early in their careers, although many were beginning to question the merits of "toughening up" tactics.
An ACT Health spokeswoman said culture was of the utmost importance in hospitals and the report was welcomed by the government.
"It is good to see this topic of inappropriate behaviour and culture being openly discussed to bring about practical change," she said.
Dr Scott said the mistreatment of students required long-term action from hospital management in coming years.
"The profession and the discipline of medical education would benefit from research to understand the complexity of factors that allows the cultural practices to be perpetuated and to identify ways to shift the culture," she said.
