Violence against health care workers and its impact on career choices among medical interns: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Compared to any other profession, workplace violence in our country is reported more among health care workers. This study aims at bringing out the impact of the violence against healthcare workers in the minds of the medical interns of medical colleges in Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, using a pre-determined, pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire among 100 medical interns, randomly selected from 2 medical colleges in Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Results: 37% interns had experienced workplace violence. Departments such as casualty, ICU, OBG, pediatrics and orthopedics are highly prone for incidence of violence against healthcare professionals. The current rise in the violence against healthcare professionals has affected the future plans of majority (80%) of interns. 24% of them want to work overseas, 12% of them intend to join private/corporate hospitals, 9% of them want non-clinical courses for post-graduation studies, 7% of them intend to take up administrative sector professions whereas 5% of them plan to quit medical field and change their career due to the rise in violence against healthcare workers. Conclusions: It has been established that many interns are not willing to work in government hospitals and many are planning to move abroad because of fear of violence. This will adversely affect the healthcare standards in our country especially in rural areas. Therefore, adequate steps must to taken to prevent the occurrence of violence against healthcare workers in our country.