Almost half of trainee doctors dealing with bullying, harassment or discrimination say it comes from patients or carers, the Medical Board of Australia’s 2025 training survey has found.

The 2025 Medical Training Survey found that 20% of registrars had faced bullying, harassment, discrimination or racism in the past 12 months.

Five years ago, more than 50% of trainees facing bullying or racism said senior doctors were the source, but this fell to 43% between 2020 and 2025.

However, patients or their families as the source of abuse rose 10%, reaching 42%.