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Part-time employment of gynecologists and obstetricians: a sub-group analysis of a Germany-wide survey of residents

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Combining family and career is increasingly taken for granted in many fields. However, the medical profession in Germany has inadequately developed structures. Little is known regarding the satisfaction of physicians working part-time (PT).

Methods

This Germany-wide on-line survey collected information on the working situation of PT employees (PTE) in gynecology. An anonymous questionnaire with 95 items, nine of which concerned PT work, was sent to 2770 residents and physicians undergoing further specialist training.

Results

Of the 481 participants, 104 (96 % female, 4 % male) stated they worked PT, which is greater than the national average. 94 % of all women and 60 % of all men would work PT for better compatibility between work and family life. The PTE regularly work night shifts (NS) (96 %) and weekends (98 %). The number of monthly NS (median 5–9) was not different between the full-time (FT) employees and the PTE who work >75 %. Only when the working hours are reduced by 25 % or more, there are fewer NS (median 1–4) PTE that have a desire for fewer NS. The classic PT model is seldom realized; over 70 % of PTE work whole days, while other working models do not play a major role in Germany. On-call models were subjectively declared to have the best family friendly work-life balance.

Outlook

The results obtained indicated that structures must be developed that to address the problem of childcare and the long working hours to ensure comprehensive medical care from specialists.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the survey participants and the DGGG for their support in the online survey and Katharine Taylor for critical reading and her support.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 440, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

      Sarah Schott & Sabine Eismann

    2. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

      Johannes Lermann

    3. KRH Klinikum Region Hannover GmbH, Klinikum Siloah-Oststadt-Heidehaus, Hannover, Germany

      Johannes Neimann

    4. Klinikum Hallerwiese, Nurnberg, Germany

      Julia Knabl

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    1. Sarah Schott
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    2. Johannes Lermann
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    3. Sabine Eismann
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    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Sarah Schott.

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    Conflict of interest

    The authors have no conflict of interest, the authors have had full control of all primary data and that they agree to allow the Journal to review their data if requested.

    Ethical approval

    All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

    Informed consent

    Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study as frist slide oft eh online survey. In case consent was not given, the questionnaire could not be answered.

    Additional information

    J. Neimann and J. Knabl contributed equally.

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    Schott, S., Lermann, J., Eismann, S. et al. Part-time employment of gynecologists and obstetricians: a sub-group analysis of a Germany-wide survey of residents. Arch Gynecol Obstet 295, 133–140 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4220-9

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4220-9

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