Wonder why emergency doctors are quitting? Spend a day in my shoes

June 5, 2026 — 3:30pm

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Burnout is not just a plot line in TV dramas like The Pitt. It is real, and it is affecting emergency physicians in every emergency department across Australia. Emergency medicine is rewarding work. It’s a real privilege to care for patients and families during their hardest moments. However, this can also come at a real cost to the physician.

As this masthead revealed this week, a report by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine found that close to two in five emergency physicians are considering leaving emergency medicine due to workplace stress. While that is not the case for me, this shows some of the challenges we face. I am the college’s NSW branch chair as well as an ED doctor. This is a typical day.

6am: My phone alarm wakes me all too soon, but as many working mothers know, it’s essential to creep out of the house without making eye contact with the kids if you want to squeeze in a quick jog. This ritual is essential for maintaining my sanity. As they say, “apply your own oxygen mask first”.

7am: A flurry of dressing kids, breakfast, packing lunches and checking drop-off plans. My phone bleeps. Someone’s called in sick. I check rosters and make calls. Mondays are always packed in the ED after filling up with patients over the weekend. We can’t afford to be down on staff. A text confirms I’ve managed to plug the gap. A sigh of relief.

Emergency doctors are ‘begging for beds’ and planning to quit

8am: Handover: bright-faced day staff ready to be tasked, while the weary night team hands over essential details of the dozens of patients in beds, the waiting room and ambulance stretchers. A........

© Brisbane Times