Hospital interns have been asked to do duties they aren't qualified for, according to new Medical Council reports.
The council has been looking at nine hospitals from two hospital groups to check their training standards.
The inspections were carried out at the university hospitals in Galway, Letterkenny, Portiuncula, Sligo, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, the Mercy, and South Tipperary General hospital.
While for the most part they were found to be at least partially complying with standards, the inspections found that some interns were being asked to perform duties above their grade.
In one case, trainees were left unsupervised when a consultant was absent for a week.
In other situations medical registrars refused to write notes in patients charts and left this for interns to complete, regardless if they had seen the patient or not.
There was also allegations of bullying and a lack of respect show to trainees.
Dr Rita Doyle, head of the Medical Council, observed: "Bullying in the work place will not be tolerated. Interns and [non-consultant hospital doctors] must have the resources required to allow them to treat their patients and to develop their skills while furthering their education.
"When doctors are overworked without appropriate rest periods and breaks this can lead to an impact on their physical and mental wellbeing and, in turn, could become a patient safety issue.”
Hospital groups must submit an action plan following an inspection and the medical council says implementation plans will be monitored on an annual basis.
