Bullying in Indonesia's medical schools in focus after junior doc dies

Police investigating whether her depression, linked to alleged bullying, is among factors

- Linda Yulisman

JAKARTA - The recent death of a junior doctor following months of overtime and verbal harassment has reignited concerns over a culture of bullying in Indonesia's medical training institutes.

Dr Aulia Risma Lestari, 30, a resident in Diponegoro University's anaesthesia specialist programme at the Dr Kariadi General Hospital in Semarang, Central Java, was found dead in her rented room on Aug 12.

It is believed that she injected herself with a high dose of an anaesthetic drug.

Police are investigating her death as an alleged suicide and whether depression, linked to alleged instances of bullying that she had documented in her diary, was among factors contributing to her death.

The police added that her diary showed that she was under stress and had suicidal thoughts, without providing details.

Her text messages with a friend, which were circulated on social media, revealed that she had spent a lot of money on extra expenses apart from study fees and living costs. Senior doctors have been known to make their juniors pay for expenses unrelated to studies.

On Aug 16, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin acknowledged that it was "an open secret" that bullying is commonplace in Indonesian medical schools, and has existed for a long time.

He added that the alleged bullying suffered by Dr Aulia was only the "tip of the iceberg". "Many (future specialists) want to commit suicide. It's already a big phenomenon. I make a plea to all stakeholders to stop this practice (of bullying)," he said.

Dr Aulia's death is not the first fatal bullying case involving doctors that has made news headlines. In August 2020, another medical resident, 28-year-old Albertus Berfan, who was attending Airlangga University's school of medicine, took his own life as a result of alleged bullying by his seniors.