The characteristics and problems of professional activity of medical workers in conditions of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The article is based on the results of sociological survey of medical workers of the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2021. The approaches to issues of their professional activities are analyzed. It is argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated a number of systemic problems accumulated in health care system in last years. The main difficulties are associated with shortage of medical personnel, increased workload, low remuneration of labor of medical workers, unpractical work organization decreasing quality of medical care, etc. The majority of respondents (68.4%) are not satisfied with their salaries. The highest percentage of negative assessments is fixed among physicians and paramedical personnel. The amount of average monthly salary of junior medical personnel is so low that it does not correlate with the minimum wage accepted in the Republic. The study discovered sufficiently high occupational risk, determined by biological production factor related to possibility COVID-19 contamination. The assessment of occupational morbidity demonstrated that at present the most widely-spread occupational pathologies in medical workers are infection with COVID-19 (70.2%) and emotional burnout syndrome (67.2%). Such measures as annual dispensarization, provision of medical workers with sanatorium-and-spa vouchers are obviously insufficient. Only 14.1% of respondents could underwent annual medical examination. Only 13.8% of respondents had opportunity to take advantage of sanatorium-and-spa vouchers. The study revealed deficiency of personnel in medical organizations among paramedical and junior medical personnel and physicians as well.