Emergency department doctors are being exposed to "distressingly" high levels of bullying and harassment within Australian hospitals.
The finding is the result of a membership survey conducted by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) aimed at identifying unacceptable behaviour in the workplace.
More than a third or 34 per cent of those surveyed said they had experienced bullying.
Just over 20 per cent experienced discrimination, 16 per cent reported harassment and 6.2 per cent said they had experienced sexual harassment.
ACEM President Professor Tony Lawler says they will immediately move to address the findings.
"We owe a duty to our members, fellows and trainees to do what we can to ensure emergency medicine is practised in a respectful and inclusive environment," Professor Lawler said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We will use this experience to listen to and engage with our members to bring about meaningful cultural change and address the problems caused by some members of our profession.
"As health care workers on the frontline and directly in the public eye, emergency physicians need to take a leadership position and champion and model the high standards of behaviour we expect of others."
The College will consult with members to prepare and publish an action plan by the end of November addressing the survey findings.
Share
