Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Apr;107(14):248-53.
doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2010.0248. Epub 2010 Apr 9.

Psychosocial stress among hospital doctors in surgical fields: results of a nationwide survey in Germany

Olaf von dem Knesebeck  1 , Jens Klein, Kirstin Grosse Frie, Karl Blum, Johannes Siegrist
Affiliations

Psychosocial stress among hospital doctors in surgical fields: results of a nationwide survey in Germany

Olaf von dem Knesebeck et al. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this paper is to analyze psychosocial stress in the workplace among hospital doctors working in surgical fields in Germany with the aid of the demand-control model, the effort-reward imbalance model, and selected additional indicators.

Methods: A written questionnaire was answered by a stratified random sample consisting of 1311 hospital doctors working in surgical fields in 489 hospitals in Germany. Validated instruments were used to make measurements according to the demand-control and effort-reward imbalance models.

Results: The working conditions of about a quarter of the hospital doctors surveyed were characterized by an effort-reward imbalance. 22% of them have "job strain" according to the demand-control model, i.e., they are confronted with high demands, yet have a low degree of control. Residents and assistant physicians not occupying training positions were both found to have an especially high degree of psychosocial stress. Furthermore, about one-fifth of the hospital doctors surveyed thought about giving up their profession at least a few times per month. 44% of them considered that the quality of patient care was sometimes or often impaired by an excessive physician workload.

Conclusion: An investigation of psychosocial stress in the workplace among hospital doctors in surgical fields in Germany indicates that this group suffers from more severe stress at work than other occupational groups. Such working conditions pose a threat to these physicians' own health and to the quality of the health care that they provide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency (%) of occupational effort-reward imbalance (quotient >1) for hospital doctors in surgical specialties by sex, position, and department; chi-square test for significance testing
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency (%) of job strain in accordance with the demand-control model for hospital doctors in surgical specialties by sex, position, and department; chi-square test for significance testing
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft. Düsseldorf: DKB; 2007. Zahlen, Daten, Fakten 2007.
    1. Bergner T. Lebensaufgabe statt Lebens-Aufgabe. Dtsch Arztebl. 2004;101(33):A 2232–A 2234.
    1. Rosta J. Arbeitszeit der Krankenhausärzte in Deutschland: Erste Ergebnisse einer bundesweiten Erhebung im Herbst 2006. Dtsch Arztebl. 2007;104(36):A 2417–A 2423.
    1. Gothe H, Köster AD, Storz P, Nolting HD, Häussler B. Arbeits- und Berufsunzufriedenheit von Ärzten. Dtsch Arztebl. 2007;104(20):1394–1399.
    1. Brähler E, Alfermann D, Stiller J, editors. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; 2008. Karriereentwicklung und beruf-liche Belastung im Arztberuf.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources