Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical trainees report experiencing and/or witnessing racism at more than double the rate of colleagues, the latest Medical Training Survey (MTS) shows.
The source of reported unprofessional behaviour varied between groups of trainees, with GP trainees (49%) and interns (54%) reporting that patients and their families were the most common source of unprofessional behaviour.
“The survey results anchor deficits in the culture of medicine firmly to wider community attitudes and behaviours,” Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Anne Tonkin AO, said.
Results of the 2024 MTS also revealed more than 1,000 trainees (five per cent) reported experiencing and/or witnessing sexual harassment.
One third (33%) reported having experienced and/or witnessed bullying, discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and/or racism, spiking to 54% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees and 44% of interns.
The Medical Board of Australia runs the national, profession-wide survey of all doctors in training in Australia. More than half Australia’s doctors in training (24,812) completed the 2024 survey and 23,859 responses were eligible for analysis. Of these 415 doctors who responded were in training at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS).
ENT surgery trainees
About 1% of those who responded were practising in the subspeciality of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery.
Dr Tonkin said 38% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees reported experiencing or witnessing racism, compared to 17% of other trainees.
“‘I am appalled by what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees report. Clearly, our efforts to strengthen cultural safety in medicine and the health system more widely are urgent and well targeted. Our health system and our community need to do better,” Dr Tonkin said.
“There is no place for bullying, discrimination, racism, sexual harassment or other forms of harassment in medicine or in any civil society.”
She said there was no excuse for the lack of professionalism and respect reported by trainees.
The 2024 MTS results also revealed that 29% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees and about 19% of all trainees were considering a career outside of medicine.
This was particularly concerning when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical practitioners were key agents in the provision of culturally safe healthcare to people within their communities, she said.
The good news included that the national quality of trainee supervision, orientation, teaching, education and training on patient safety was again high.
The MTS is an annual feature in the medical training landscape and a credit to the trainees – most now specialists – who campaigned successfully for the board to establish the survey, Dr Tonkin said.
“The value of the MTS is rock solid. What remains is a challenge to our collective ability – and will – to apply MTS data to shape strategies for positive change,” Dr Tonkin said.
Other findings included:
- 81% of interns reported that their medical school prepared them well for medical training
- 62% of trainees agreed/strongly agreed that the financial cost of their college training program had led to stress
- 16% of trainees agreed/strongly agreed that the cost of their college training program had been a barrier to progressing in the training program
- 68% of trainees agreed/strongly agreed that their college supported flexible training arrangements (up 3%), with workplace unavailability the main reason for not accessing it.
The longitudinal survey tracks the quality of medical training and was created for trainees, with trainees, after a successful campaign by trainees. Data from past years is being used across the health sector to guide improvements in medical training.
The medical board said stringent privacy controls made it safe and confidential for trainees to take part.
