Contents
Despite the theoretically improving financial situation and the wave of medical protests aimed at reducing the doctor’s working time, they work as hard as they did a few years ago.
- Despite protests and a better financial situation, only every fourth doctor works in one job
- Others still work two or three jobs. Record holders up to 18 hours a day
- The main reason doctors work so much is because of the staff shortage
The situation in 2018
The www.konsylium24.pl portal once again asked Polish doctors how many hours a week they devote to their professional work, taking into account all its performance. Only one in four doctors out of 302 respondents admitted that they work 37 hours and 55 minutes a week, which is the same amount as a full-time hospital, in accordance with European Union standards. However, over 10 percent. doctors admit that they work 71 to 91 hours a week, which is more than 10 hours a day, including weekends. Record-holders (2% of doctors) admit that they work more than 126 hours a week – which is 18 hours a day each day.
Have contracts, higher salaries and physicians’ protests changed anything?
It might seem that the introduction of contractual agreements, the constant increase in doctors’ salaries and the protests of the young generation of medics will induce some doctors to stop working beyond their strength. However, when comparing the data for the current year with the data from the previous years, it turns out that there is no significant decrease in the number of hours worked per week. There is a visible trend towards reducing working time in the group of the largest workaholics who devote more than 71 hours a week to their professional activity – from 30 percent. in 2009 at 17 percent. in 2018). Nevertheless, in the most numerous group working more than one job, and a maximum of two jobs (up to 70 hours a week), the percentage of doctors has been constant over the years (51% in 2009, 50% in 2011, 48% in 2013, 56%). in 2016, 54% in 2018).
If not money, what could be the cause of doctors’ workaholism?
Doctors are still working beyond their strength not only because they want to earn more money – some of them are forced to carry out their duties practically without interruption, because there is no one to replace them. The average age of a Polish practicing physician was around 50 in 2015. Some doctors have always worked a lot and work has become an integral part of their lives. But how does all this affect the health of doctors and the safety of patients? Will the young generation of doctors adhere to the principles of work-life balance more than their older colleagues? Time will tell.