Survey Finds Two in Five Emergency Doctors Plan to Leave or Cut Hours in Next Decade as Colleague Bullying Halves

Close to two in five emergency doctors plan to leave the profession in the next 10 years, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine. One in five respondents aged under 50 said they were likely or very likely to quit, a rate that has doubled in less than 10 years. Almost three in four emergency physicians planned to cut down their hours.

The survey of 906 emergency doctors found that 60 per cent said the demands of work interfered with their home and family life, and more than half reported work-related burnout. Unsustainable workplace conditions were the most common reason cited by those considering leaving.

Instances of discrimination, bullying, harassment and sexual harassment by colleagues had more than halved since 2019, but two in five clinicians still reported verbal abuse or physical aggression from a patient or carer in the past year.

Dr Rachael Gill, ACEM NSW branch chair, said bed block was emotionally draining and distressing for staff literally begging for a bed for acutely unwell patients. Many senior clinicians were taking administration roles or early retirement, and attracting junior staff to the specialty was challenging, she said.

We need to keep emergency medicine as a vibrant, exciting place to work, so that we have the next generation of clinicians, Gill said.

A junior doctor working in a NSW emergency department said she experienced verbal abuse almost every shift and has decided the specialty is not for her after seeing the overcrowding, burnout and intense hours involved. When I speak to junior doctors, it’s really rare to hear that somebody wants to go into emergency, the doctor said.

Allely said governments needed to invest more in aged care and primary care facilities to ease pressure on emergency departments, and in security officers.

The success story of medicine is that people are living longer lives, but the impact is that we have an ageing, complex and sicker population attending emergency departments, Allely said. Things are going to get worse unless there’s some significant changes, he said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said his government is recruiting more health workers and hospital security staff, investing in pay rises for doctors and more hospital beds.

Patients awaiting aged care or NDIS beds meant state governments were effectively subsidising a Commonwealth responsibility, Park said. 7 billion investment in aged care.