There is ‘absolutely no doubt' that a boys' club exists in the field of medicine in this country and sexism is ‘rampant', a consultant psychiatrist has claimed.

According to Prof Veronica O'Keane, a consultant psychiatrist at Tallaght Hospital and senior lecturer in Trinity College Dublin's department of psychiatry, people who practice medicine in Ireland are ‘absolutely' sexist and many women do not challenge this.

"I was recently at a meeting where there were a group of female consultants speaking and the consultants were divided as to whether you should put up and shut up in relation to sexism in the workplace or whether you should actually challenge it in order to change the work culture," she commented in the Irish Examiner.

She said that many female consultants believe that if they did challenge sexism, this would impair their chances of success and promotion.

"That is reinforcing it then for younger colleagues because younger colleagues are learning that from their older colleagues and they think, ‘oh yeah, this is harmless, I'll put up with this and that way I'll ensure promotion.' That is certainly a belief that is out there," she commented.

Prof O'Keane was also highly critical of recent comments made by an Irish-educated surgeon based in Sydney in Australia, Dr Gabrielle McMullin. Earlier this month, Dr McMullin claimed that she tells female trainees that if they are approached for sex by their superiors, ‘probably the safest thing to do in terms of your career is to comply'.

She highlighted the case of one trainee doctor who ended up being sexually assaulted by her supervising surgeon. She eventually won a case against the doctor, but since then, has ‘never been appointed to a public position in a hospital in Australasia'.

"Her career was ruined by this one guy asking for sex on this night. Realistically, she would have been much better to have given him a bl*w job on that night," Dr McMullin said.

Her comments caused huge controversy and were described as ‘outrageous' by Prof O'Keane.

"Sexism is rampant but nobody would make a comment like that, and I have never, ever heard anyone advising a junior doctor, and I would certainly never advise, to give sexual favours to a male colleague.

"It defies belief that a senior colleague in medicine would be advising junior colleagues in such a way. It is contrary to everything women have worked so hard to achieve. Clearly you don't get to an ambitious position like that without generations of women having worked very hard for a woman to have such a position," she added.