Noor Suhana Mohd went straight into "fight or flight mode" after a patient got angry and hurled racial and Islamophobic slurs at her.
"'I don't have to listen to a Muslim', he said to me," Dr Mohd told the ABC.
After the incident, she froze.
"I was scared."
"I wasn't sure what he was going to do. I [eventually] stood up and asked him to leave the consultation."
It happened almost a decade ago when Dr Mohd was in her first year of training as a general practitioner but the experience stayed with her.
It had shaken her confidence and affected her mental health, she said.
A survey has found Dr Mohd was not alone.
Hidden crisis
Three in four Muslim healthcare workers surveyed had faced discrimination for their religious beliefs, the study found.
Researchers said the study highlighted a "hidden crisis" in the Australian healthcare workforce.
The research, led by academics from Federation University Australia, the University of Sydney, the University of Notre Dame Australia, and Western Sydney University, in partnership with the Australian Islamic Medical Association, was conducted in 2024 as an anonymous cross-sectional study.
A total of 358 healthcare professionals participated across the country. Of those, 85 per cent were Muslim, and 83 per cent identified as a member of a culturally and linguistically diverse community.
Federation University Australia Professor Dr Muhammad Aziz Rahman, one of the academics who led the research, said it was one of the first Australian studies to systematically explore how Islamophobia, religious discrimination, and cultural bias affected those working in the healthcare system.
"This research clearly shows that Islamophobia and discrimination are experienced by healthcare workers regardless of their faith or background," Professor Rahman said.
"But Muslims, especially from CALD communities, are disproportionately impacted, and their well-being is at stake," Professor Rahman said."There must not be any discrimination or prejudice due to any religious identity, not only in Islam. Such issues are not acceptable for any individual, community, or profession, let alone healthcare professionals," he said.
The study showed Muslim women had been some of the most impacted by Islamophobia. The study showed female Muslim professionals faced "additional layers of discrimination related to gender, religious identity, and physical appearance".
Dr Mohd, who is also vice president of the Australian Islamic Medical Association said, she's not surprised by the study's findings.
She believed if more doctors had been surveyed, the problem with discrimination in the sector might be even higher.
"Being a visibly Muslim woman in healthcare means I'm constantly navigating judgment sometimes from patients, sometimes from peers," Dr Mohd said.
"I face assumptions about my skills and my right to be in the room. And yet, women like me are often the most trusted by patients who've been marginalised themselves," she said.
The association said this discrimination also threatened healthcare services, particularly in regional and remote communities where Muslim healthcare professionals might be among the few or only providers.
Paediatric endocrinologist Associate Professor Justin Brown warned: "If we lose these dedicated professionals to burnout, discrimination, or disengagement, the impact will be felt most by patients in the areas with the fewest healthcare options."
The association, which represents more than 1,000 members, said there had been a sharp increase in Islamophobia in the wake of recent geopolitical events, particularly the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Islamophobia in Australia had increased in assaults, abuse and threats based on reports to the Islamophobia Register Australia between January 2023 and November 2024.
According to a March report by the Register, Muslim women and girls were targeted in 60 per cent of physical assaults, 79 per cent of verbal assaults and all spitting incidents — almost all of which were committed by men.
That's more than double the incidents when compared to previous reporting period averages, according to the report.
'We must act now'
Dr Mohd said doctors didn't need to face Islamophobia on the job.
"We’re here to treat you, and we don’t discriminate. So why should we face discrimination?" she said.
She said it was important to raise awareness and offer confidential mental health support to healthcare workers facing these issues who might be too afraid to speak up due to stigma.
"Some may be afraid to because of repercussions and may not speak up about their experiences," she said.
The authors of the study have urged healthcare leaders, hospital administrators, and policymakers to make necessary changes from within the industry.
Professor Rahman said the health sector must act now.
"If nothing is done, we will be posing the risks of having hatred and disharmony in this multicultural society," Professor Rahman said.
"Healthcare professionals will not be able to utilise their full potential to succeed, grow in his/her workplace and the quality of service delivery to patients may be impacted."
