Sydney Surgeon Quits Dream Job After Seeing 'The Dark Side' Of Profession

Sydney surgeon quits dream job after seeing 'the dark side' of profession

An aspiring reconstructive surgeon who abandoned her dream after becoming burnt out by "untenable" working hours in Sydney has called out Australia's "toxic surgical environment".

Key points:

• Yumiko Kadota was at her hospital for up to 140 hours a fortnight
• Her "untenable" hours led to health problems before she quit, crashed her car and ended up in hospital with insomnia
• The young doctor said some senior colleagues ignored her concerns in the lead-up

Dr Yumiko Kadota spent six weeks in hospital with insomnia late last year and claimed she was "barely able to speak or move" after resigning from her position as a registrar and crashing her car on the way home.

In a blog post published this week, Dr Kadota detailed how her aspirations to become a reconstructive surgeon were destroyed by long hours and combinations of stress, sleep deprivation, dehydration and gut problems.

"I was physically alive, but spiritually broken," she wrote.

"I am handing back my dream of becoming a surgeon. I have nothing left to give".

The doctor and marathon runner, who was ranked third in a class of 250 students at the University of New South Wales for anatomy, began an exhausting term at Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital — which wasn't named in the post — as one of two registrars last February.



PHOTO: Dr Yumiko Kadota spent six weeks in hospital when her health continued to deteriorate after resigning. (Supplied: Yumiko Kadota)

Dr Kadota said her roster cycle involved 180 continuous hours on call in a fortnight, followed by one night off and then another 80 hours on call.

"Work would follow me home with phone calls whilst trying to park my car in the garage, whilst I took a shower, whilst I was trying to cook dinner, and whilst I was trying to fall asleep," she wrote.

She claimed to have also been tasked with covering on-call hours for the ear, nose and throat department despite having no experience.

The young doctor clocked up more than 100 hours of overtime in the first month.

'It's good for you'
By April, Dr Kadota had noticed a deterioration in her health and began to worry about staying "fresh to make clinical decisions".

"The combination of stress, dehydration, poor nutrition, and sleep deprivation affected my gut health," she said.

She said she attempted to call for backup during one late-night surgery but was refused by her boss, who the following morning joked: "Was I dreaming, or did you call me?"

Dr Kadota claimed she was also refused breaks and was told: "I remember doing those sort of hours when I was at your stage. It's good for you."

"As a marathon runner, I think I might know a thing or two about pushing my physical limits," she added.

"I was made to feel as though I needed more mental tenacity."

When she complained about being woken at 3am about a non-urgent matter, Dr Kadota said she was told to "stop being an emotional female".

She said she had become "weary and disillusioned" by May, and a letter from her GP to her workplace requesting changes had no impact.

"I had been trying so hard not to complain because I knew what was at stake," she recalled.



PHOTO: Dr Yumiko Kadota said she wanted to give junior colleagues a realistic look into what lies ahead. (Supplied: Instagram)

The following month, a breaking point arrived when she had worked 24 consecutive days, then saw she would be working another 19 in June and 21 in July — despite six senior doctors flagging concerns about her situation.

Dr Kadota said the last words from the head of her department, following her resignation, were: "You're good at what you do … but if you can't handle the hours, maybe this isn't for you."

She said she hoped to give younger trainees a realistic picture of life in the job.

"By sharing my story I also hope to raise awareness about doctors' health, work-life balance, safe working hours, and the toxic surgical environment that still exists in Australia."



PHOTO: Dr Yumiko Kadota was ranked third in a class of 250 for anatomy. (Supplied: Yumiko Kadota)

Hospital apologises
Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital issued a sincere apology to Dr Kadota and said her concerns were being taken "very seriously".

General Manager Peter Rophail said a forum about junior doctor health was held in June 2017 and since then recommendations had been implemented — particularly around safe working hours.

He said a new standard prohibited junior doctors from being rostered for shifts more than 14-hours long, with a 10-hour break between shifts.

"Further work is now underway in relation to un-rostered overtime, and call-back practices, and the Ministry is consulting with junior doctors and the health system," he said in a statement.

Mr Rophail also pointed to several wellbeing initiatives, including a dedicated support line for junior doctors.

He said there were 8,722 full-time equivalent junior medical officers working for NSW Health as of June 2018 — an increase of 14 per cent over the last five years.



PHOTO: Dr Yumiko Kadota said her long hours resulted in stress and sleep deprivation. (Supplied: Instagram)

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