A report revealing the extent of bullying among surgeons has shocked the profession, and it is vowing to change.
Examples cited in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons draft report include a woman told she should get her tubes tied if she wanted a job, and another made to work 30-hour shifts in the last weeks of her pregnancy.
Dr Cathy Ferguson, of Wellington, chairwoman of the college's professional standards committee, told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the problem was equally bad in both New Zealand and Australia, and, while there were fewer of them, female surgeons were as likely to be bullies.
While Dr Ferguson had known bullying was a problem, she was surprised by its extent.
The fact some victims thought about suicide was ''distressing''.
The ''high stakes'' and often life-saving nature of surgery was no excuse for bullying.
The report is blunt in its assessment, the extent of which ''shocked'' the expert advisory group that compiled the report.
A survey found nearly 50% of college fellows, trainees, and international medical graduates had faced discrimination, bullying, or sexual harassment.
A culture of fear and reprisal meant lodging a complaint could be ''career suicide''.
''There needs to be a new shared language that makes clear the risk to patient safety from discrimination, bullying, and sexual harassment.
''This does not involve trashing the past. It involves mindfully, deliberately taking what is best ... and re-settling on foundations of respect, transparency and professional excellence,'' the report says.
There were specific concerns about the adequacy of complaint processes.
Perpetrators faced few consequences from their actions.
Dr Ferguson said perpetrators represented a cross-section of surgeons, including those with a high profile.
''The highly successful charismatic person may be a more obvious bully and they are not called out for their behaviour.
''But I think it does occur in all sorts of other insidious ways, as well.''
It was a big step for the profession to acknowledge it had a major problem.
''We accept that we need to change. How we change is not necessarily going to be as easy.''
The New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association and the New Zealand Medical Council both issued statements backing the call for change.
The findings
• 49% of fellows, trainees, and international medical graduates had been bullied, discriminated against, or sexually harassed.
• 71% of hospitals reported bullying or discrimination or sexual harassment in past five years.
• Problem exists in all surgical specialties.
• Senior surgeons and surgical consultants the main perpetrators.
