N.Z. doctors ‘content’

Press, 25 February 1981, Page 13

N.Z. doctors ‘content’

PA Dunedin New Zealand doctors are a fairly contented lot; more so, it appears, than their British counterpart. A study of 898 New Zealand ’ general practitioners shows that 64 per cent enjoy their work very much and 31 per cent enjoy it moderately. A similar study in Britain in 1977 showed that 55 per ' cent of doctors enjoyed their work; very muc.i and 36 per cent enjoyed it moderately. Only 4. per cent of New Zealand doctors do not enjov their work, compared with 8 per cent in the British study. The study was done byAssociate Professor J. G. .Richards and M. J. McPherson of the Auckland School of Medicine and appears in rhe latest “New Zealand Medical Journal.”

It explores the reasons doctors give for work enjoyment. Most (36 per cent) cite personal contact and relationships withpatients as a reason for job fulfilment. Twentytwo per cent commented

on the variety of people, problems and medical skills they are confronted with in general practice. The involvement with families as a unit and association with families over several generations is mentioned by 13 per cent of the doctors.

Ten per cent value the freedom and independence their work gives them, 10 per cent mentioned the reward of feeling that one has helped others, and 9 per cent mentioned the satisfaction of being involved in total patient care. Smaller percentages cited the enjoyment of having a specialist interest such as obstetrics, the challenge of problem-sol-ving. and community involvement. But the doctors were reticent when it came to financial affairs with only 1 per cent mentioning monetary reward as a source of sati'faction. The study also looked at frustrations" doctors experience in general practice. The most common reply was the frustration

related to particular patients (22.5 per cent). Doctors mentioned dema ndi ng. inadequate, moaning, inconsiderate, ungrateful patients. They talked of patients with expectations that were too high and patients who did not follow instructions, changed doctors, or communicated poorly. Several doctors emphasised that it was only a small proportion of patients that give rise to such frustrations. The pressure of too many patients and too little" time was mentioned by 19 per cent of doctors. They commented on fatigue and on lack of time for counselling, preventive medicine, postgraduate study, and proper consultation. Other frustrations men-, tioned included poor support systems and bureaucratic "problems, feelings

of personal inadequacy, ; financial matters, keeping i up with changes, and isolation from colleagues. Only 7 per cent mentioned" the frustration of unnecessary consultations . about trivial conditions, : much lower than the 33 I per cent in this category I in the British survey. 1 Expanding on con- ; sultations of a trivial | nature, the study showed ! that 32 per cent of doctors regard more than one- i quarter of their con- i sultations as trivial, com- . pared with 46 per cent in [ Britain. ■ But a majority of doc- i tors said it was appro- I priate tj deal with trivial consultations in a positive, I tolerant way. [ A high proportion of i doctors (89 per cent) felt ; it was appropriate that i they should be consulted i about family and social problems. i