Racism and sexual harassment faced by medical trainees

03 Dec 2024

New questions bring new insights: Medical Training Survey results strengthen data value

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) has found.

Results of the 2024 MTS also reveal more than 1,000 trainees (5%) reported experiencing and/or witnessing sexual harassment.

One third of trainees (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.

Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Anne Tonkin AO, 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.”

Dr Tonkin said there was no excuse for the lack of professionalism and respect reported by trainees.

The 2024 MTS results also reveal that 29% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees and about 19% of all trainees are considering a career outside of medicine. This is particularly concerning when it’s recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical practitioners are key agents in the provision of culturally safe healthcare to people within their communities.

There is also good news in the 2024 MTS results, with the national quality of trainee supervision, orientation, teaching, education and training on patient safety again high. Broadly, 2024 results are stable compared to previous years.

There is important nuance in the 2024 MTS data. The source of reported unprofessional behaviour varies 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.

“MTS results anchor deficits in the culture of medicine firmly to wider community attitudes and behaviours,” Dr Tonkin said.

“The MTS is now 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 MTS”, 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.

New MTS questions in 2024 generated new insights:

• 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 their 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 MTS is a longitudinal survey that tracks the quality of medical training. It 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.

Stringent privacy controls make it safe and confidential for trainees to take part. The MTS is run by the Medical Board of Australia.

More than half Australia’s doctors in training (nearly 25,000 trainees) did the 2024 MTS.

2024 MTS results are available in static reports on the MTS website. The online MTS data dashboard will go live with searchable results in late January 2025.

Contact us

• For media enquiries (03) 8708 9200 or media@ahpra.gov.au