Mr Bunton attended the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' council meeting in Melbourne on Wednesday.
His own specialty came out the worst of all the surgical specialties, he said.
He has mixed feelings about it, and is shocked and saddened by some of the examples of inappropriate behaviour in the report.
But he also believes young doctors are more sensitive these days.
Asked if he might be considered ''old school'', Mr Bunton (62) agreed.
''According to that report, I might be one of the worst of them.''
He suggested bullying was poorly defined in the report and accompanying survey.
''In some situations, if trainees are doing particular things, or you're in situations where something has to be done quickly, or the patient gets a bad outcome, you can't help but be a bit terse and directive and raise your voice.
''In today's environment, if someone gets some feedback that is less than positive and perhaps delivered in an abrupt way, that can sometimes be perceived as bullying.''
Some people were more sensitive than others, but everyone deserved to feel safe in their training, and perceptions were important, he said.
''I've worked in an environment - not in Australasia - where some of the people involved would be considered to be extreme bullies, but it never affected me, perhaps because I was white and perhaps [because] I was not a woman.''
Mr Bunton, who is also acting chief medical officer at the Southern District Health Board, does not believe bullying is a major problem at the board.
''Unless I'm walking around blindly with ears closed and eyes shut, I don't perceive there's a big problem with things that are highlighted in the report.
''I've seen more bullying on Masterchef than I've seen in an operating theatre.''
He acknowledged he might be ''blind to a lot of this stuff''.
Mr Bunton is chairman of the college's board of cardiothoracic surgery for New Zealand and Australia.
