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Australia report details surgeon discrimination, harassment
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons: (Courtesy Improve International)A medical group apologized on Thursday to surgeons and trainees in Australia and New Zealand after a report found that almost half had suffered discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment from senior surgeons
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Royal Australasian College of Surgeons: (Courtesy Improve International) (Courtesy Improve International)
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons: (Courtesy Improve International)
A medical group apologized on Thursday to surgeons and trainees in Australia and New Zealand after a report found that almost half had suffered discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment from senior surgeons.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, which represents 6,000 surgeons and 1,300 trainees in the two countries, commissioned the report and promised to adopt its recommendations for fundamental reform.
"These behaviors have been too long tolerated and have compromised the personal and professional lives of many in the health workforce," college president Prof. David Watters said in a statement.
The investigation followed Sydney vascular surgeon Gabrielle McMullins' controversial media interviews in March in which she said female trainee doctors should just give into requests for sexual favors because reporting sexual harassment to authorities would destroy their careers.
The report found that 49 percent of surgeons and trainees, including foreign medical graduates working in the male-dominated Australian and New Zealand surgical systems, complained of being subjected to discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.
Of these, 19 percent reported workplace harassment, 18 percent discrimination and 7 percent sexual harassment.
Younger surgeons and trainees were more likely to complain of bullying than older surgeons.
The report found that an "important gap" in the statistics were doctors who had quit surgical training in recent years. These doctors had not been interviewed for the report.
The report also found that 71 percent of hospitals reported discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment among their staff. Senior surgeons were the main culprits, the report said.
"There was general consensus that the worst cases were deliberately orchestrated and perpetuated by a small number people who abused their institutional positions of power," the report said.
Comments by doctors surveyed included "... the ultimate penalty for a harassed female who speaks out is being unable to find employment in Australia."
The report recommended cultural change and sanctions against those responsible for discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.
It recommended changes to surgical education and independent scrutiny of complaints management.
The college will release its action plan in response to the report's recommendations in November. (**)
