A formal investigation into bullying allegations against a senior Melbourne neurosurgeon have been confirmed.
Dr Helen Maroulis, former senior member of the Monash Medical Centre’s neurosurgical unit, came under fire regarding her mistreatment of trainees.
Investigated by the Board of Neurosurgery, the review panel reached their conclusions after Dr Imogen Ibbett, a former trainee of Dr Maroulis, spoke out about her experiences at Monash on an ABC Four Corners report earlier this year.
“She was awful to me … just constantly being made to feel that I wasn’t good enough, constantly being made to feel that I was missing things, that I was lazy, that I was stupid,” Dr Ibbett said.
“And that was really exactly how she said it as well. I remember days when I would just go home and cry, just sit in a dark room and just cry.”
After the allegations were made public, Dr Maroulis stopped working for the Monash Medical Centre, though the university will not confirm whether she resigned or was sacked.
According to the summary report, evidence surrounding Dr Maroulis’ bullying was so severe that the review panel believed the centre unsafe for trainees and that it would be justified to revoke Monash’s accreditation to train neurosurgeons.
However, with Dr Maroulis’ departure from the centre, and new procedures put in place to prevent such future behaviour, the board opted not to proceed.
According to the ABC, Dr Maroulis has made a formal complaint of her own with Fair Work Australia with claims she was bullied and discriminated herself while at the university.
Though the matter was dealt with in August, it has yet to be resolved.
Source: ABC
