The recent death of a junior doctor in Indonesia has cast a harsh light on the pervasive issue of bullying within the country’s medical schools. Aulia Risma Lestari, a 30-year-old resident in an anaesthesia specialist programme at Diponegoro University in Semarang, was tragically found dead in her home. Authorities are currently investigating her death as a potential suicide.
This incident has brought renewed attention to the long-standing problem of bullying in medical education, which Indonesia’s Health Minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, has described as an “open secret.” In response to the tragedy, Sadikin has vowed to push for stricter measures and legal action against those responsible for such abuses, stating, “I will push for legal action to ensure maximum punishment for the perpetrators and to create a deterrent effect.”
The extent of bullying in Indonesia’s medical schools is alarming. According to the Health Ministry, there were 356 formal complaints of bullying between July 2023 and August 2024. Of these, 156 cases were thoroughly investigated, leading to suspensions or dismissals. The reported cases involved various forms of abuse, including physical harm, financial extortion, verbal abuse, and intimidation. The Health Ministry’s spokesman, Mohammad Syahril, emphasized the seriousness of the issue, stating, “The Health Ministry will always take stern action against the bullies. Their names will also be flagged in the system as perpetrators.”
In the wake of Lestari’s death, other junior doctors across Indonesia have come forward to share their own experiences of mistreatment. Agung Purnama (name changed), a 29-year-old specialising in oncology surgery, described the intense pressure exerted by his seniors, who forced him to work excessively long hours under the threat of poor grades or being deemed unworthy of becoming a doctor. “You feel like [you] have no choice but to do as they say … I spent so much time and money to get to this point [in my studies], so it feels like you don’t want to do anything to risk that,” he said.
Diah Satyani Saminarsih, founder and chief executive of the Centre for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives, highlighted the normalization of bullying within the demanding environment of specialized medical education. “I think there is a tendency to normalise and see bullying as being natural because of the high amounts of pressure and demands of specialised medical education … but this shouldn’t be normalised or tolerated,” she told This Week in Asia.
Following Lestari’s death leaked WhatsApp conversations between her and her seniors surfaced on social media, reportedly showing that she was coerced into paying for their food, entertainment, and car rentals. This tragic case underscores the urgent need for systemic change to protect the well-being of future doctors in Indonesia.