Perception of Harrasment or Discrimination during Urology Residency in Colombia

Purpose Workplace bullying (harassment, abuse, or discrimination), practiced persistently against an individual, can generate a hostile workplace environment, consequently leading to exhaustion, with poor psychological outcomes, and the onset of symptoms such as loss of confidence, fatigue, depressive thoughts, desertion, and suicidal thoughts. There are no publications regarding this issue in Colombia. Our objective is to describe the residents' perception of gender and workplace discrimination and verbal/sexual harassment during their urological training. Methods Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study with anonymous surveys. We evaluated the demographic characteristics and the residents' perception of harassment, the type of harassment, how it affected their performance during residency, and from whom it was perceived. Results We were able to obtain answers from 82/115 residents (71.3%), most of them men (45 [56%]). In total, 66% (54) reported workplace harassment; and 35.4% (29) felt gender discrimination, most of them women (17; 58.6%). Verbal abuse was reported by 64.6% (53), and it affected the work of 92.5%. The parception of workplace harassment was similar among both men and women (32 [69.5%] men and 21 [61.1%] women). A total of 7(19%) women reported sexual abuse. Regarding the source of the abuse, 39 (65.8%) was by professors, 26 (45%), by other residents, and 17 (35.4%), by patients. Conclusion The perception of harassment during urology residency in Colombia is real, and it affects the work of residents. This abuse is greater on the part of men, and is mainly perpetrated by professors. We consider our work the starting point to continue researching a topic of national and international importance.