Canberra's junior doctors face worst conditions in country, most likely to face bullying and harassment

The second annual Medical Training Board of Australia survey found participants in the ACT's medical training programs, including interns and registrars, were the least likely to recommend the program to other doctors.

The ACT's results across key questions were consistently the worst of any jurisdiction, with junior doctors facing the biggest workloads and feeling the most undervalued.

Canberra's early career clinicians were the most likely in the country to have dealt with bullying, harassment or discrimination.

Some 46 per cent of the Canberra doctors surveyed had either witnessed or experienced the behaviour. Across the country, that figure was 34 per cent.

Canberra Hospital has for many years been dogged with claims of bullying and poor workplace culture.

A wide ranging review published in 2019 found concerning levels of bullying, with the government still implementing many of the recommendations.

However the survey results suggest things have gone backwards among junior doctors, showing they were more likely to have faced bullying in 2020 than 2019.

The doctors, who mainly worked at Canberra Hospital, were the least likely in the country to have access to paid study time and the least likely to feel supported by their workplace.

They were also the most likely to do work they didn't feel confident completing and the least likely to have access to senior clinicians.

Just 15 per cent of the ACT doctors surveyed said they were always paid for unrostered overtime - the lowest proportion in the country.

Some 70 per cent of participants would recommend the program to others, the lowest in the country but a slight improvement on 2019.

Canberra trainee doctors were the most concerned they would not successfully complete their training program to obtain a fellowship or meet pathway requirements.

The survey quizzed 21,000 junior doctors across the country about their ongoing medical training

"For the future of our profession, we must all listen to what the thousands of trainees have told us," board chair Dr Anne Tonkin said.

"Collectively, we must prioritise the work needed to build a culture of respect, including by making it safe for them to speak up. We must keep our trainees safe. An urgent and shared commitment to this across medicine and the wider health sector will lead to safer patient care."

Canberra Hospital's executive director of medical services Nick Coatsworth said there had been incremental improvements in some categories, including trainee satisfaction in the program, but he wanted to do better.

"In my time as a senior executive at the hospital, I would hope to see that shift to exceeding the national benchmark," he said.

"I want to see us be a preferred employer for other doctors."

He said it was a concern junior doctors were continuing to witness and experience bullying and harassment, with a new program being rolled out to improve culture on wards.

"It gives all the doctors and nurses and clinicians and allied health professionals a common language that doesn't get misinterpreted or fall into realm of bullying and harassment," he said.

Dr Coatsworth said he was pleased exam pass rates for trainees was 80 per cent compared to 75 per cent nationally.

The results come amid ongoing concerns about workplace conditions for junior doctors in the ACT and allegations of underpayments.

A junior doctor at Canberra Hospital last year raised the alarm about the pay discrepancies and presented a report on her findings to Canberra Health Services.

A Brisbane law firm is currently representing about 60 junior doctors who believe they have been underpaid.