Humiliation as a teaching aid

Editor - Everybody in the world has to go through humiliation in some form at some time. Medical students are not exempt. Ahmed Kassem's article describes teaching with humiliation and disrespect in medical schools.¹ But being humiliated is highly subjective. As a student, sometimes my peers did not understand when I felt humiliated, and, at other times, I did not understand them.

Medical training is demanding, and teachers expect a lot of hard work and dedication from the students. Teachers often criticise, but the intention behind that is the betterment of students. The greatest occasion in a teacher's life is when all their students pass the exams with flying colours.

1. Kassem A. Medical schools teach with humiliation and disrespect. studentBMJ 2004;12:398. (November.)