Humiliation
Humiliation is a powerful negative emotional experience in which a person feels degraded, shamed, or disrespected—usually in front of others. In clinical environments like neurosurgery, humiliation can severely damage morale, learning, and team trust.
🔹 Definition
Humiliation involves:
- A perceived loss of dignity or status
- Public exposure of error or inadequacy
- Imbalance of power between the one humiliating and the one humiliated
It goes beyond embarrassment by adding intentionality, publicness, and power dynamics.
🔹 Examples in Neurosurgical Context
- A resident being mocked in front of peers for a wrong answer.
- A scrub nurse being yelled at in the OR over a minor mistake.
- A junior surgeon’s complications being presented in M&M rounds with sarcasm or ridicule.
“He was not just corrected—he was humiliated in front of the whole OR team.”
🔹 Impact on Team and Training
- Decreased psychological safety
- Suppression of questions and communication
- Long-term impairment in professional development
🔹 Distinguishing Feedback from Humiliation
| Constructive Feedback | Humiliation |
| Focuses on behavior/performance | Attacks person or character |
| Delivered privately or respectfully | Delivered publicly with ridicule |
| Intended to teach or improve | Intended to shame or assert dominance |
| Encourages future learning | Discourages participation and openness |
🔹 How to Prevent Humiliation in Surgical Education
- Promote a culture of respectful teaching
- Correct privately when possible
- Use debriefing, not degrading
- Model humility and vulnerability as a leader
- Train attendings and seniors in **mentorship skills**
🔹 Quote
“Teaching through humiliation produces silence, not excellence.”