ON A knife's EDGE
Marie Claire Australia|March 2021
A toxic culture of bullying, overwork, sexism and harassment is devastating young female doctors – sometimes to a fatal end. Why is medicine failing its future workforce of women? Alexandra Carlton reports
Alexandra Carlton
ON A knife's EDGE

On the first of June 2018, plastic surgery registrar Yumiko Kadota was driving to Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in western Sydney, where she had been spending nearly every waking hour – and many fitfully sleeping ones – since February. It wasn’t unusual for her to be working 120 to 140 hours a fortnight at the hospital, and when she wasn’t, she was on call, sometimes for eight days in a row, with phone calls waking her up at all hours of the night.

Thirty-year-old Kadota was not the sort of person to take her foot off the gas. She loved the challenge of complicated surgery with its unique nexus of creativity and skill, and the satisfaction of knowing the positive difference it could make to a patient’s life when it was done well. This was a woman who placed third in her anatomy class at the University of New South Wales and ran marathons in her spare time. Toughness and resilience came naturally to her. But not even Wonder Woman – a nickname Kadota had among her friends – could keep going like this. She knew she wasn’t coping. The exhaustion was suffocating. She was dehydrated and undernourished from eating nothing but hot chips or banana bread at the hospital canteen in those rare moments when she could spare a minute to put something into her body.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM MARIE CLAIRE AUSTRALIAView all
SHANNEN DOHERTY
Marie Claire Australia

SHANNEN DOHERTY

The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms

time-read
8 mins  |
September 2024
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Marie Claire Australia

IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA

Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
Back to EARTH
Marie Claire Australia

Back to EARTH

In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
ODE to LIGHT
Marie Claire Australia

ODE to LIGHT

Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
JEN ATKIN
Marie Claire Australia

JEN ATKIN

The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
A NEW DIRECTION
Marie Claire Australia

A NEW DIRECTION

When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2024
LADY LUCK
Marie Claire Australia

LADY LUCK

Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2024
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Marie Claire Australia

Wait... superhero movies are cool now?

Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
CURTAIN CALLING
Marie Claire Australia

CURTAIN CALLING

Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
LEIGH-ANNE
Marie Claire Australia

LEIGH-ANNE

The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024