‘Kill myself or leave’: female surgeons reveal horrifying conditions

Sexual harassment, bullying and a contempt for motherhood are driving aspiring female surgeons out of operating theatres.

• Kate Aubusson
• The Age

Women training to become surgeons have seriously contemplated suicide, been invited to fondle the nipples of a male colleague and dismissed as childbearers undeserving of medical training, a series of in-depth interviews reveals.

The testimonials confirm the shocking case of surgical trainee Dr Yumiko Kadota is not an isolated one, but an endemic problem in Australian hospitals.

Bullying, sexual abuse, extreme work hours and fatigue were key reasons women gave up their life-long ambitions of…

• ‘Kill myself or…