6 Comments

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  Franz Schwarz - 12 years ago

  Yes, medicine is steeply hierarchical and ,thus, rife with bullying. My recent experience is with nurses as a locum in remote Australia. Now known a nurse practioners in those climes ,they unite and try to dictate management of patients. If you stand up to them they blacken you with administration who take their word ahead of yours. Some of the time you are not even given a chance to defend yourself. Hanging a stethoscope around your neck does not make you a medical graduate.Nurses are drawn from a different sector of school graduates and are no more than of average intelligence. This needs saying . If it sounds elitist ,too bad.

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  GP Ally Cat - 12 years ago

  I agree: bullying by patients is increasing and quite demoralising. Apart from examples re antibiotics and benzos/opioids, others include "bullying by Google and Naturopath" (e.g. "My naturopath/Google say I need to have tests for my adrenals") and bullying for GPs to do work either free or bulk-billed (i.e. heavily discounted) for all. I'm a better doctor than ever before, yet feel myself questioned and undermined more and more.

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  public servant - 12 years ago

  I see the main source of bullying in the public hospital sector - coming from consultants and aimed at registrars; which is really quite sad in terms of what is deemed 'acceptable' behaviour in teaching hospitals... who is going to be the silly bunny who complains about it when they need said consultant to sign them off at the end of the year.

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  Kiri - 12 years ago

  Re Belligerent Patients:

  Especially when you politely explain that you do not prescribe antibiotics for colds, viral coughs/acute sinusitis/conjunctivitis/uncomplicated otitis media etc etc etc or long term sleeping tablets/other benzos. Too many Drs undermine their colleagues by 'giving in' and writing a script 'just in case' which basically means 'I can't be bothered explaining to you why you don't need antibiotics/benzos and I don't want to endure your abuse when I say no'. This confuses the patient who feels justified in demanding a script because they received one last time they had the same symptoms, hence Doc number 2 gets bullied. If we all showed a united front on antibiotics and benzos (and read the NPS guidelines....) this behaviour would be greatly reduced.

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  saruvisnu - 12 years ago

  Bullying is common in all working place, because every where the vast people are Australians. Its there genetic issue

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  GEORGE QUITTNER - 12 years ago

  The main source of bullying is actually from belligerant patients.