Objective: To generate a contemporary understanding of “teaching by humiliation” as experienced by medical students in Australia. Design, setting and participants: In this pilot study, we surveyed final‐stage medical students from two Australian medical schools about their experiences of teaching by humiliation during their adult and paediatric clinical rotations. The students were invited to complete the anonymous survey at the end of their paediatric rotation in Semester 2 of 2013. We used descriptive statistics to analyse quantitative data, and a grounded theory approach to analyse qualitative data. Main outcome measures: Student reports of experiencing or witnessing teaching by humiliation during their adult and paediatric clinical rotations. Results: Of 151 students invited to participate, 146 (96.7%) completed the survey. Most students reported experiencing (108; 74.0%) or witnessing (118; 83.1%) teaching by humiliation during adult clinical rotations. Smaller but still sizeable proportions had experienced (42; 28.8%) or witnessed (64; 45.1%) it during their paediatric clinical rotation. The humiliating and intimidating behaviours students experienced were mostly more subtle than overt and included aggressive and abusive questioning techniques. The students' responses to these practices ranged from disgust and regret about entering the medical profession to endorsement of teachers' public exposure of a student's poor knowledge. Conclusions: Practices associated with humiliating medical students persist in contemporary medical education. These practices need to be eradicated, given the evidence that they affect students' learning and mental health and are dissonant with formal professionalism curricula. Interventions are needed to interrupt the transgenerational legacy and culture in which teaching by humiliation is perpetuated.

Increasingly, health professional training involves the use of educational technologies through what is broadly termed "Technology-Enhanced Learning" (TEL). TEL includes hardware, such as computers and mobile devices, and software, such as software applications (apps), learning management systems, and discussion boards. For many years, TEL has formed an integral part of health professional programs and is growing in acceptance, if not expectation, in postgraduate training and continuing education. TEL generally aims to be flexible, engaging, learner focused and interactive, and may involve collaboration and communication. It offers many benefits for learning and teaching, whether used on its own or in conjunction with face-to-face teaching through blended learning. The ubiquity of mobile devices in clinical settings means TEL is ideal for busy clinicians, both as learners and teachers. TEL enables participants to learn at a time and place that is convenient to them, so learners living in geographically dispersed locations can access standardized courses. To realize these potential benefits, we recommend that those developing TEL programs for health professionals take a systematic approach to planning, development, implementation, and evaluation. To that end, we propose 10 principles: clarify purpose and conduct a needs assessment; allocate adequate time and technology; incorporate proven approaches to improve learning; consider the need for a skills component; enable interaction between learners and with others; create different resources for different groups; pilot before implementing; incorporate measures to retain learners; provide opportunities for revision to aid retention; and evaluate learning outcomes, not just satisfaction.