Safe to speak up: Why a doctor’s wellbeing is everyone's business

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Crazy Socks 4 Docs: Safe to Speak Up - Dr Geoff Toogood

Dr Mark Woodrow, MBBS, MBA, GDipAppLaw, GCertArts, EMCert(ACEM), MACLM, AFRACMA, General Manager – Medical Advisory Services, Avant

When cardiologist Dr Geoff Toogood launched Crazy Socks 4 Docs in 2017, the idea was simple. Wear colourful socks. Start a conversation. Break the silence around mental health in medicine. 

Eight years later, the movement has grown into a national campaign with reach across the medical profession and beyond. But the issue it set out to tackle has not gone away. 

Doctors in Australia have higher rates of burnout, depression and distress than the general population. They are also far less likely to seek help. The reasons are complex. But one of the most stubborn barriers is cultural. In medicine, asking for support can still feel like admitting failure. 

This year's theme, ‘Safe to Speak Up’, puts that tension front and centre. 

What does it mean to be safe to speak up? 

Psychological safety is the belief that you can raise concerns, ask questions, or admit you are finding things hard, without fear of judgement or career impact. Easier said than done for some. We know that research links it to better patient outcomes, fewer errors and stronger teams. 

However, in medicine, the conditions that build psychological safety are often missing. Long hours. High stakes. Strict hierarchies. A culture that prizes stoicism over honesty. Together, these make speaking up genuinely hard. 

For Dr Geoff Toogood, the movement is about shifting that culture one conversation at a time. "It's not about one day of the year," he says. "It's about whether a junior doctor can walk into a consultant's office and say, 'I'm struggling.' And whether the consultant knows what to do when they do." 

The picture in Australian medicine 

The scale of the problem is well documented. The Beyond Blue National Mental Health Survey of Doctors and Medical Students, the most comprehensive study of its kind in Australia, found that doctors report of psychological distress at higher rates than other professionals, and that medical students far worse again.¹ More recent research paints a similar picture. A 2023 study of Australian GP registrars found that nearly half were experiencing high levels of emotional exhaustion, with another quarter sitting somewhere in the middle.² 

Rates of suicide tell the same story. Health professionals in Australia are around 30% more likely to die by suicide than people in other occupations, and the rate among female doctors has risen significantly over the past two decades.³ 

The numbers are stark. But the more telling reality sits behind them. Doctors worry about confidentiality. They worry about registration. And there is a lingering sense that seeking help does not fit with being a doctor. 

Crazy Socks 4 Docs has helped change that. The movement gives a public, visible, even playful signal that it is okay to say medicine is hard, and that doctors are human. 

Why Avant is in this conversation 

Avant's role in Australian medicine goes beyond professional indemnity. As Australia's leading medical defence organisation, we exist to protect doctors. That means more to us than managing medico-legal risk. It means standing alongside our members through the harder parts of the job. 

Supporting Crazy Socks 4 Docs reflects that broader commitment. A doctor who feels supported, who feels safe to speak up, who has the right network and resources, is a doctor who can keep providing great care. 

Protection isn't only about what happens after something goes wrong. It's about making sure doctors have everything they need to practise with confidence. That includes their mental health. 

What needs to change 

The 2026 campaign is more than a call to wear socks. It is a call to action for the systems that shape how doctors work. That means: 

• workplaces that actively address psychosocial risk 
• training for supervisors to recognise distress and respond appropriately 
• reviewing rostering and workload practices to reduce burnout 
• making support pathways, such as peer support, counselling or formal health services, clear and easy to access. 

For individual doctors, it means giving yourself the same permission and care you would give a patient. You are allowed to ask for help. You are allowed to say when something is too much. And you are allowed to speak up. 

Join us on 5 June 2026 

Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day takes place on Friday, 5 June 2026. Avant is proud to be sponsoring this year's event in Launceston alongside founder Dr Geoff Toogood. 

Wear your socks. Share your photo. And if you've been meaning to review your professional indemnity cover or talk to someone about your wellbeing, make this the week you do. 

Because speaking up is not a weakness. As this year's theme reminds us, speaking up is exactly what safe practice looks like. 

References: 

1. Beyond Blue. National Mental Health Survey of Doctors and Medical Students. Wu F, Ireland M, Hafekost K, Lawrence D. October 2013. Available at: beyondblue.org.au  
2.  Holliday EG, Magin P, et al. A cross-sectional study of burnout among Australian general practice registrars. BMC Medical Education, 2023. doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04043-4  
3. Petrie K, et al. Suicide among health professionals in Australia: a retrospective mortality study. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2023.