Public hospitals would benefit from greater work/life flexibility for hospital workers - AMA report
AMA Vice-President, Dr Trevor Mudge, said today that striking a better balance between work hours and family or leisure time for doctors and other hospital workers would produce long-term benefits for our public hospitals.
Releasing the AMA Report - "Opportunities and Impediments to Flexibility" - Dr Mudge said inadequate public hospital funding over many years has led to long hours and stressful working conditions and an acute shortage of doctors and support staff in the hospitals.
In preparing the report, the AMA interviewed senior managers and doctors from over 100 hospitals, medical training bodies and health departments on the impediments and opportunities for greater work/life balance for doctors.
"The report confirms that the medical profession has been denied the benefits of greater work/life balance that have flowed to other sectors of the workforce," Dr Mudge said.
"This is providing a real disincentive to work in our public hospitals.
"While the education and training system for Australia's doctors remains world class, reforms to medical training will be necessary to close the gap between the aspirations of young doctors for flexibility and the rigidity of the medical workplace.
"New models of medical care and clinical handover need to be developed to allow for shorter hours, part time work and job sharing in our public hospitals.
"We need to move from a model based on continuity of "carer" to continuity of "care" - or face losing our best and brightest young doctors who are not prepared to sacrifice their families and personal lives for a career in medicine," Dr Mudge said.
The report proposes better medical job design, improved rostering, better use of technology, more support staff and family friendly workplaces as essential reforms.
"Opportunities and Impediments to Flexibility" is the second report in the AMA's "Work Life Flexibility" campaign, which seeks to modernise the hospital workplace and medical training system to reflect contemporary social values regarding the balance between work, family and personal lives.
The report is available on the AMA website or by contacting Tania Goodacre on 02 6270 5481.
CONTACT: Judith Tokley (02) 6270 5472 / (0408) 824 306