Características del empleo y bienestar subjetivo en médicos de la Región Metropolitana / Characteristics of employment and wellbeing among physicians working in Santiago, Chile

Background: Profound changes have been observed in medical practice during the last thirty years. This may be understood as a result of the influence of economic variables in health services management, among other probable causes. At the same time, doctors' work has been diversified, and a tendency to work in several paid jobs simultaneously has been observed. Aim: To describe the characteristics of employment in a representative sample of Chilean physicians. Material and Methods: A probabilistic sample of 414 physicians residing in Metropolitan Santiago answered a survey about their number and type of jobs and completed the BIS UMED questionnaire that measures the subjective wellbeing of physicians. Results: Forty percent of surveyed physicians had three or more jobs (36.3% of men and 47.5% of women). There was a significant inverse association between the number of jobs, general wellbeing and facing medicine from a new perspective. Conclusions: The number of jobs is inversely related to the general wellbeing of physicians.

Percepción de cambios en la práctica médica y estrategias de afrontamiento / A survey about physicians’ professional satisfaction

Background: A change in the social structure of medicine and its impact on clients has occurred in the last decades. Aim: To perform a survey about subjective wellbeing among physicians. Material and Methods: A physician’ professional satisfaction survey consisting in 90 questions, was applied to 580 physicians (70 percent males), working in Metropolitan Santiago. Results: Physicians perceive changes in all the examined professional domains and approximately 50 percent of the changes are evaluated as negative. Change perception is a general phenomena among physicians, since there were no differences in relation to gender and only in few aspects with respect to age and medical specialty. There was a predominant positive attitude, based on the profession, to face changes. Conclusions: The positive evaluation of changes and the frequent use of managing strategies are associated with a higher satisfaction among physicians.

Validación de una escala para medir el bienestar subjetivo de los médicos (BISUMED) / Generation and validation of a scale to measure physicians' wellbeing

Background: The recent and ongoing changes in the structure and social organization of medicine have deeply transformed medical practice. Aim: To study the perception of these changes by physicians, the impact of these changes in their subjective wellbeing and their strategies of adjustment. Material and Methods: A scale, consisting of 54 items grouped in nine dimensions to measure physicians’ subjective wellbeing was devised. It was applied to a random sample of 580 physicians residing in Metropolitan Santiago and affiliated to the Colegio Médico de Chile (the Chilean Medical Association). Results: The internal consistency analysis in the instrument showed a global Cronbach´s alpha of 90 percent. Conclusions: These results support our methodological approach based on an initial qualitative identification of relevant topics in our local context, which afterwards were included as items in the scale to measure specific components of subjective wellbeing.

Países en desarrollo: trabajo integrado de cientistas sociales y profesionales / Developing countries: social scientist and health personal comprehesive work

Revisa algunas de las modalidades de trabajo colaborativo entre cientistas sociales y profesionales de la salud en los países en desarrollo, ilustrándolas con ejemplos de la realidad chilena. El propósito no ha sido una revisión exhaustiva del tema sino más bien comentar algunos de los problemas principales, con el fin de motivar el intercambio y la discusión al respecto, a partir de diferentes experiencias y realidades nacionales. El abordaje de los problemas de salud del presente y del futuro cercano requerirían de una nueva manera de organizar el trabajo integrado entre cientistas sociales y profesionales de salud