Professional exhaustion in the medical profession is on the rise, a spokesperson from the Federation of Swiss Doctors (FMH) told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
The Covid-19 pandemic significantly increased doctors’ workloads last year, particularly for those who work in hospitals.
More than half of the 1,500 doctors surveyed in a FMH poll this week reported that they “usually or frequently” experienced stress over the last year.
Some said they felt they could no longer meet the requirements of the job.
But the amount of work they have to do isn’t the only reason for the increase in burnout, which is around twice as common in doctors compared to other professionals.
A shortage of qualified staff is also contributing to the rising exhaustion rates, with hospitals struggling to fill empty posts.
This is particularly bad in rural areas where some establishments receive hardly any applications for vacant position.
Some clinics have to wait for months before they can hire someone and, in the meantime, other staff have to take on the extra work, irrespective of how heavy their workload is already.
According to VSAO, the Swiss Association of Junior and Senior Physicians, every second junior doctor is on duty longer than the 50 hours permitted each week.
And two out of every three doctors work more than the law allows.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that in 2021, a total of 189 doctors sought help from support network for doctors in crisis Remed, due to anxiety, depression, self-doubt or overwhelming workloads.This number has almost doubled since 2015.
Two out of every three of those calls were made by female doctors.
These are often conscientious, competent and sensitive women who are exhausted by their dual role of mother and doctor, ReMed psychiatrist Mirjam Tanner explained to the German-speaking newspaper.
They expressed admiration for colleagues who seemed to get things done so easily while they themselves felt incapable of being a good doctor.
But Tanner explained that just because male doctors were less likely to ask for help, that did not necessarily mean they were coping better, simply that they have a higher inhibition threshold when it comes to seeking advice.
Nor did the psychiatrist expect calls for help to decrease, noting that more people were aware of the ReMed service now and that more people were open to getting support.
And what about a solution? The FMH spokesperson said the only way out of the situation in the short term would be to reduce capacity – ie to close beds or even entire departments.
Longer term, they are calling for more doctors to be trained.
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