Surge in bullying complaints from medical students

A further 224 students have come forward with fresh complaints, says NZMSA president Liz Berryman. Photo / iStock

More than 220 students have come forward this week with fresh claims of abuse and bullying from medical professionals.

The Herald on Sunday revealed last weekend that 157 students had notified the Medical Students' Association they had been racially, sexually or verbally abused by senior staff at some of our biggest hospitals.

This included a North Island surgeon who asked a Chinese student if he ate dog for dinner and would only call Asian students "Bob" or "Bill". A Maori intern in Wellington was only referred to as "student" because a doctor couldn't pronounce his name and two female students lodged complaints with universities alleging they were sexually harassed by consultants.

NZMSA president Liz Berryman confirmed to the Herald on Sunday that a further 224 students had come forward.

One case involved a student being yelled at by a medical professional in front of patients. "She was crying and the consultant still wouldn't stop, berating her when she was crying," Berryman said.

The cases had come to light in responses to an NZMSA member survey.

Almost 750 students have now responded, with 381 saying they had been bullied. The student body was now contacting victims to see if they would make formal complaints.

Berryman said since the survey's preliminary release the NZMSA had been invited to join a medical task force to tackle the issue of bullying in the New Zealand healthcare sector.

The collective will release an industry-wide statement next month drawing attention to unacceptable behaviour in the workplace.

Discussions have also started with medical schools to devise a system for distressed students to lodge anonymous complaints.

The discussion would also include whether complaints could be heard by the Medical Council.

Since last weekend's report, some consultants had addressed students to ensure their conduct was acceptable.

The consultants' Council of Medical Colleges had also invited the NZMSA and the Resident Doctors' Association, which represents junior doctors, to present a briefing highlighting bullying at its October board meeting.

Berryman hoped the address would emphasise how good and bad learning experiences affected student learning.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell told the Herald on Sunday last weekend that the difficult hospital workplace created an environment of considerable pressure, but that shouldn't be an excuse for inappropriate behaviour.

"I suspect some of these areas of lower levels of inappropriate behaviour are not even seen that way by the perpetrators of it, so by raising awareness I think that will go a long way to its reduction," he said.