Current and future healthcare needs of future hospital physicians.

BACKGROUND: Work-related health problems can impair the work ability of hospital physicians and pose a threat to patient safety. Understanding the health status and care needs of young hospital physicians is therefore essential to providing job-specific health services and ensuring good future quality of care. AIMS: To investigate the current health status of future hospital physicians and their current and future care needs and to explore their preferences regarding occupational health services. METHODS: We gathered data concerning worries about current health, current and future care needs and preferred ways of receiving feedback and interventions when using occupational health services from the 2013 wave of a cohort study of Dutch medical students (original population: n = 4961). We also calculated the relationship between current health status and future care needs. RESULTS: We obtained data from 647 future physicians. Irrespective of their stage of training, most (73%) had few worries about their current health. However, two-fifths felt in need of care for psychological (42%) or physical (40%) complaints. More than half (52%) anticipated future care needs by indicating they would consider using occupational health services when offered in the future. General health status was not significantly related to feeling in need of future care. Preferences regarding feedback on health results were to receive this by email (54%) or from an occupational physician (51%) and in their own teaching hospital (68%). CONCLUSIONS: Future hospital physicians expressed a need for current and future occupational healthcare, irrespective of current worries about health.

Physical job demands and related health complaints among surgeons.

PURPOSE: Surgeons' poor physical health and high physical job demands might threaten good quality of care. We aimed to compare the prevalence of physical complaints of surgeons, their physical work ability and the physical job demands of surgeons with that of other hospital physicians. METHODS: All medical doctors (n = 958) of one academic medical center were invited to complete the online questionnaire to assess the physical work ability and the prevalence of regional musculoskeletal complaints. A purposive sample of 44 surgeons and 82 other hospital physicians were systematically observed during work to quantify the physical job demands for an average working day. RESULTS: More surgeons found their work to be physically strenuous (41 vs. 13 %, p < .000) and more were bothered by working in uncomfortable or exhausting postures (73 vs. 27 %, p < .001). Both groups reported that most of their physical complaints were in the neck (39 and 32 %) and arm regions (36 and 27 %). The majority of surgeons (86 %) and other hospital physicians (79 %) experienced difficulties coping with their job demands because of their physical state once a month or less. Compared with other hospital physicians, surgeons stand longer (4 vs. 3 h, p = .004) and perform fine repetitive movements longer (80 vs. 3 min, p < .001) during an average working day. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to several physical job demands that are perceived as uncomfortable and exhausting and the presence of physical health complaints reduce surgeons' work functioning.

The associations between psychosocial workload and mental health complaints in different age groups.

The objective of the present study was to explore associations between psychosocial workload and mental health complaints in different age groups. A questionnaire was sent to 2021 employees of a Dutch railway company. Six aspects of psychosocial workload (work pressure, mental workload, emotional workload, autonomy, social support from colleagues and social support from supervisors) and three mental health outcomes (work-related fatigue, stress and burnout) were assessed. Associations between the aspects of psychosocial workload (distributed into tertiles) and health complaints were analysed by logistic regression analysis in four age groups (22-35, 36-45, 46-55 and 56-66 years old). In all age groups, worse work pressure was a significant risk factor for having mental health complaints. Worse emotional load in the younger employees and lack of social support in older employees were associated with a higher risk of having mental health complaints. Age-specific preventive measures should be implemented on both individual and group levels. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: With an ageing workforce, understanding relationships between age and work-related health ailments is increasingly important. This study found that emotional workload in younger and lack of social support in older employees were associated with a higher risk of mental health complaints. Work pressure was a risk factor in all age groups.