A recent survey of junior doctors in Western Australia uncovers a sharp rise in moderate-to-high burnout rates, with over half also citing limited training opportunities. The findings show 56 percent of respondents experiencing moderate to high burnout, marking a 4 percent increase from the prior year.
Rising Burnout and Workforce Exodus
Dr. Kyle Hoath, president of the Australian Medical Association’s WA branch, describes the trend as alarming. “It’s raised from where it was last year, which is alarming to us,” he states. “We know that this is going to be a tough winter, and if we’re facing that with fewer doctors, because we’re burning them out in their day-to-day duties, it’s unacceptable.”
Junior doctors increasingly exit the profession early, driven by excessive workloads, burnout risks, and inadequate support. “Probably for the first time ever, we are seeing doctors leave the profession early to pursue other careers because it’s too hard, because of the burden placed on them, because of the risk of burnout, because of the work that they’re exposed to with insufficient support, meaning that they are looking elsewhere,” Hoath adds.
Key Workplace Challenges
One in three surveyed doctors fears repercussions for raising concerns or reporting misconduct. Additionally, 40 percent report that training applications harm their wellbeing. Major issues include job security, parental leave support, and flexible work options.
Dr. Natalie Ferrington, vice president of the AMA WA and a registrar at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, paints a bleak picture. “The feeling on the ground is definitely aligned to the feelings of the hospital health check, which is that burnout has increased overall,” she says. “We see it on the ground where departments just don’t have the medical staff, and these are junior doctors that are working overnight trying to review patients. I see it time and time again, patients ending up in the intensive care or having poorer outcomes because we just don’t have the staff to actually work in the departments in the hospital.”
Over 1,300 junior doctors participated in the survey, which assesses morale, workplace culture, burnout, leave access, training, and employment rights. Ferrington calls for more specialist training positions. “Unfortunately, the places to pursue a career in cardiology or surgery or most specialties that you or I might think of as medical specialists – it is very competitive,” she notes. “That’s one of the main drivers of people not actually being able to speak up on these key workplace issues.”
Solutions and Positive Shifts
Hoath identifies access to leave, safe hours, and reduced unpaid overtime as critical to curbing burnout, especially amid life changes like starting families. “Often it’s at the same time people are starting families, or at the very least entering perhaps their first ever job, and to be exposed to such amounts of pressure, such amounts of work with insufficient support or time off or breaks, is what contributes to quite a high rate of burnout,” he explains.
Despite concerns, positives emerge: 92 percent of respondents feel safe at work, and adverse behavior reporting has improved due to ongoing advocacy. “It is positive that we have seen no F-grades for only the second time ever,” Hoath says. “So we are seeing that the hospitals do listen to the health check and try to address those issues that we are able to highlight. Every year, after the hospital health check, we visit every hospital, sit down with their executives, we sit down with the government … and we talk about what we might be able to practically do in the next 12 months to improve things. We aren’t there yet, it is something that we need to keep working at.”
