Survey of career satisfaction and physical/mental health of medical workers in China

Abstract

Objective To identify the factors affecting the career satisfaction and physical/mental health of medical workers in China. Methods 17 945 doctors and 18 872 nurses were randomly selected from 136 tertiary hospitals in all the 31 provinces across China.By means of cell phone-based self-administrated survey questionnaire, they were surveyed with the following: work load and physical/mental health, practicing environment and remuneration, professional ethics, and professional identification. Results 58.8% of the subjects held themselves as overworked, and 46.7% as in good physical/mental conditions; 21.6% of the doctors were satisfied with their remuneration, and 90% of the medical workers said they observed medical ethics.48.7% of them saw remuneration as a key factor for their career satisfaction. Conclusions Overwork and poor physical/mental conditions have become a new normal for medical workers.The authors hold that medical workers in China boast high professional ethics, yet their satisfaction for their remuneration and practicing environment need to be improved, as the two have become key factors for their professional identity. Key words: Medical workers; Practicing environment; Workload; Health