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Doctors need better work/life balance
3 April 2008
An AMA report released today shows most doctors want flexible work arrangements to allow them to spend more time with family and friends but AMA Victoria President Dr Doug Travis says this is out of reach for many Victorian doctors.
“Doctors are seeking a better work/life balance, but for many doctors this is not an option,” said Dr Travis.
“We know from the recent release of the Ministerial Review of Victorian Public Hospital Medical Staff that morale is low in Victorian hospitals and doctors are under considerable amount of stress.
“Capacity problems in Victorian public hospitals, teamed with state-wide doctor shortages mean it is often not possible for flexibility in public hospitals.
Dr Travis said we need to improve conditions for Victorian public hospital doctors to ensure we retain the current workforce and attract new doctors to the state.
“We are already experiencing doctor shortages but over the next five years we will face the worst doctor shortage the state has ever seen. We are competing with other states in the effort to attract doctors so we need to make practising in Victoria more attractive.”
The AMA Work-Life Flexibility Survey reveals 85 per cent of hospital doctors believe that they will need some form of flexible working and training arrangement as a legitimate and accessible career option over the next one to 10 years.
Dr Travis said general practitioners were in a similar situation: “They needed more flexible working arrangements to allow them to spend more time with family and friends.”
Apart from spending more time with family and friends, alleviating works stress was listed in the report one of the main reasons doctors sought greater work flexibility.
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