A Victorian tribunal has found that an orthopaedic surgeon engaged in professional misconduct following an outburst during surgery and a prolonged online campaign against psychiatrists. Dr. Stewart Proper threatened to urinate in a colleague's mouth during a complex surgery in October 2017, an incident he later apologized for. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) acknowledged the high-pressure context and Dr. Proper's immediate apology but ruled the comment crossed the line into unsatisfactory professional performance, unprofessional conduct, and professional misconduct.
Dr. Proper maintained his comment was a reflexive action to prevent unsterile drapes from contaminating a patient's open wound, arguing it was an immediate reaction to protect the patient. He suggested his actions should be commended for reducing patient risk.
Online Campaign Against Psychiatrists
Further scrutiny arose from Dr. Proper's online activities between August 2018 and November 2019, while he was under investigation by the Medical Board. During this period, he posted numerous denigrating remarks on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google reviews, and RateMDs. These posts were directed at psychiatrists involved in his own involuntary mental health treatment in late 2017. Dr. Proper claimed his involuntary admissions were based on lies from his ex-wife and that he did not have the diagnosed mental health disorder.
In his posts, Dr. Proper referred to one psychiatrist as a "lying c***" and accused them of "bashing" and destroying his life. Another psychiatrist was described as "fat, lazy and dishonest" and a "horrible man with no empathy." He compared one psychiatrist's conduct to that of a rapist "getting away scot-free." VCAT characterized these posts as a "prolonged and vitriolic campaign of denigration" that brought the profession into disrepute. Although Dr. Proper argued he was posting as a patient, VCAT found the nature and extent of the posts were inconsistent with him being a fit and proper person to hold medical registration, even if not directly connected to his professional practice.
The tribunal specifically noted the posts went out of their way to be harmful, using slurs and drawing analogies to criminal acts.
Stance on Transgender Issues
VCAT also examined a series of tweets from 2019 in which Dr. Proper expressed strong views on transgender issues. In one post, he commented on transgender participation in sports, stating, "Please remember, for the sake of other participants, that transgender people are just people of their birth gender who have had surgery to appear otherwise."
He also reacted strongly to a tweet allowing Victorians to change their sex on birth certificates without gender reassignment surgery, tweeting, "WHAT THE?????? You cannot choose your gender or race or height or genes!!!!!!!!"
VCAT determined that these posts, while trivializing transgender experiences and falling short of a balanced and evidence-based contribution to public debate, did not amount to professional misconduct. The tribunal stated that a health practitioner is entitled to private beliefs and that the posts were not sufficiently connected to his professional practice to render him unfit overall. VCAT stressed that its decision did not endorse or excuse Dr. Proper’s conduct.
A further hearing will be held to determine the orders to be made, which could include a reprimand, conditions on registration, suspension, cancellation, or a fine.