An anonymous doctor's horrifying account of the sexual abuse of unconscious patients.

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We trust medical professionals to look after us when we’re in our most vulnerable state. Yet an essay written by an anonymous doctor has exposed some horrifying instances of what can happen when patients are unconscious on the operating table.

The report, titled Our Family Secrets, is published in the latest edition of The Annals of Internal Medicine and details a university professor’s discussion with students about ethics and the “unforgivable” things they witnessed during their placements.

It recounts two occasions where unconscious patients were sexually abused by their doctors, and those watching did nothing to stop it.

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The first instance is from a student, who recalls observing a vaginal hysterectomy where the patient was under general anesthesia. The attending [supervisor] was “cleansing and scrubbing her labia and inner thighs, looked at me and said ‘I bet she’s enjoying this’,” before winking and laughing.

“Man, I was just standing there trying to learn. The guy was a dirtball. It still pisses me off,” he adds. When the author asked whether he laughed along, the student defensively said yes, as he hadn’t known what else to do.

What’s even more disturbing is that this is not a one-off case. (Post continues after gallery.)

The author reveals he too has witnessed — and by association, been involved in — a situation where a doctor abused his power over a patient.

The incident occurred during a baby delivery he was assisting with as a third year medical student. When the patient, a Hispanic woman named Mrs Lopez, started to bleed profusely, the surgeon in charge had to perform an internal bimanual uterine massage. This required the insertion of his entire hand into her vagina.

It’s a procedure that stops the bleeding and ultimately saved this woman’s life, but the anonymous writer says he’ll never forget what happened next.

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“Dr Canby raises his right hand into the air and starts to sing ‘La Cucaracha’. He sings, ‘La Cucaracha, la cucaracha, dada, dada, dada-daaa.’ It looks like he is dancing with her. He stomps his feet, twists his body, and waves his right arm above his head. All the while, he holds her, his whole hand still inside her vagina,” the author recounts.

“He starts laughing. He keeps dancing. And then he looks at me. I begin to sway to his beat. My feet shuffle. I hum and laugh along with him.”

He says it’s only when the anesthesiologist shouts at them to “Knock it off, assholes!” that they stop.

These accounts are all incredibly disturbing. Complete trust is an essential element of the doctor-patient relationship, and while most doctors do an incredible job it's clear there are some who willingly abuse the vulnerability of those in their care.

While the report casts a shadow over the profession, the medical journal's publishers say there are valuable benefits of publishing the story for both doctors and prospective patients.

In an accompanying editorial, the editors stress, "It is our hope that the essay will gnaw on the consciences of readers who may recall an instance of their own repugnant behaviour."

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They say if the essay gives just one physician "the courage to act like the anesthesiologist in this story", then it will have made publishing it worthwhile.

"The story is an opportunity to see what this behaviour looks like to others and starkly shows that it is anything but funny ... We owe it to ourselves, to our profession, and especially to our patients."

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the conduct of medical professionals has made headlines for the wrong reasons this year.

In April, Australian senior surgeon Dr Gabrielle McMullin attracted attention with her comments about the double standards of sexual harassment within the profession. "What I tell my [female] trainees is that, if you are approached for sex, probably the safest thing to do in terms of your career is to comply with the request," she told the ABC.

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The NSW President of the Australian Medical Association rejected this suggestion, stressing there are clear guidelines surrounding sexual harassment and imploring female employees.

In 2014, a Broken Hill GP was also suspended for three years, after the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal found that her behaviour violated boundaries between herself and a number of patients. This included initiating an inappropriate close, personal relationship and then sexual relationship with a patient.

What do you think about the doctors' essay? Have you heard similar stories before?