Module 4
“What Not to Say”
These responses are common and often well-intended. However, students frequently experience them as dismissive.
Tap each card to reveal why it's harmful
0 of 10 revealed
That's just how this site operates.
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Normalizes harmful behavior and signals the student shouldn't expect change
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Clinical training is tough everywhere.
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Minimizes the student's specific experience by generalizing it
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You'll need to develop thicker skin.
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Blames the student for their reaction rather than addressing the behavior
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You have to stick it out or start over.
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Traps the student between enduring harm and losing progress
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Try to focus on what you can learn from the experience.
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Redirects away from the concern and implies the student should accept it
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I'm sure the supervisor means well.
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Prioritizes supervisor intent over student impact and dismisses the concern
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Welcome to the real world!
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Frames harm as inevitable and the student as naive for raising it
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Take the good with the bad.
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Equates mistreatment with normal difficulty and discourages further reporting
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If it makes you feel any better, my rotation was similar!
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Shifts focus to the faculty member's past and normalizes harm as a shared rite of passage
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I've never had a problem with this supervisor before.
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Invalidates the student's experience by prioritizing the faculty-site relationship
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Dismissive responses rarely resolve the issue. They often reinforce silence — teaching students that speaking up leads to minimization, not support.
Why these responses can cause harm
They minimize the student's experience
They reinforce the idea that reporting concerns is unsafe
They signal that faculty may prioritize site relationships over student well-being
They normalize negative behavior
They discourage further disclosure