Part-time Options Research Articles

Assessing the need for a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Endodontics: perspective and implication for advancing dental education and research in Saudi Arabia

AimThis study aims to evaluate the necessity and feasibility of integrating a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree into Endodontic programs at the Faculty of Dentistry King Abdulaziz University, (KAUFD), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to gather insights from key stakeholders regarding the value and necessity of a Ph.D. in enhancing the field of Endodontics.Materials and MethodsAn online questionnaire link was distributed among potential Ph.D. candidates and key decision-makers in Endodontics in Saudi Arabia through social media and emails to members of the Saudi Endodontic Society and the Saudi Endodontic Journal. The questionnaire assessed demographics, professional background, interest in Ph.D. programs, program preferences, perceived need for Ph.D. programs in various sectors, and university selection criteria. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 23).Results141 responses were received. Most respondents were aged 31–40, with an almost equal gender distribution. In terms of current position, a significant number were Endodontic consultants (35.7%) and Endodontic residents/Master students (28.6%) (P = 0.006). Additionally, a considerable proportion of probable prospective students had less than 5 years of expertise (45.7%) (p = 0.013), and the highest degree held by many was a bachelor’s degree (35.7%) (P = 0.007). Key considerations for prospective students were program duration, Saudi Commission for Health Specialists (SCFHS) recognition, part-time options, and cost. The importance of acquiring research skills, such as learning new research technologies and gaining publication experience, was also highlighted.ConclusionThe findings strongly suggest a need for a Ph.D. program in Endodontics in Saudi Arabia. The results provide valuable insights for developing a program that aligns with potential candidates’ and key stakeholders’ needs and preferences, thereby advancing Endodontic research and education within the country.

Isolation, discrimination, and feeling "constant guilt": A mixed-methods analysis of female physicians' experience with fertility, family planning, and oncology careers.

Family planning among female physicians is harmed by high risks of infertility, workload burden, poor family leave policies, and gender discrimination. Many women report feeling unsupported in the workplace, despite national policies to protect against unfair treatment. This secondary analysis applied a modified version of the rigorous and accelerated data reduction technique to conduct a thematic analysis of comments to an open-ended prompt. Comments were coded by multiple trained researchers then grouped and merged into illustrative themes via qualitative techniques. Of 1004 responses to the quantitative survey, 162 physicians completed the open-ended prompt. Initial codes (n=16) were combined into eight groups including, from which three overarching themes were identified. Institutional barriers were highlighted with comments discussing the increased need for parental leave, part-time options and the concern for academic or professional punishment for being pregnant and/or having children. Departmental barriers were explored with comments grouped around codes of discrimination/negative culture and challenges with breastfeeding/pumping and childcare. Personal barriers were discussed in themes highlighting the difficulties that female physicians faced around the timing of family planning, challenges with reproductive health and assistance, and alternative circumstances and/or decisions against family planning. Barriers to family planning in oncology exist across career domains from dysfunctional maternity leave to poor education on infertility risk. Solutions include improving institutional support, expanding parental leave, and general cultural change to improve awareness and promotion of family and career balance.

Defeminization of practicing dentists: A national perspective

Madam, The dental profession has witnessed a progressive shift where female dentists are becoming more prevalent in many countries, including Pakistan. This trend, known as the feminization of dentistry1, can be attributed to changing societal and economic perceptions, increased acceptance of diverse gender roles, and the recognition of the benefits of adopting feminine traits in the dental profession.2 In Pakistan, the transition began in the early 1990s when the quota system limiting seats for women in medical and dental schools was abolished. Currently, around 70% of undergraduate dental students in Pakistan are female.2 However, despite the promising number of female dental students, there is a significant drop in postgraduate training and professional practice. Only 5% of graduating female dentists pursue postgraduate training, and only half of the registered female dentists work.3 The reasons for this decline include a glass ceiling effect, which hinders women's advancement in their careers, the lack of female representation in leadership roles, the absence of female mentorship at the postgraduate level, and dual family and domestic responsibilities. Additionally, female dentists may face bias and preference towards their male counterparts in high-status specialities, impacting their promotional opportunities and patient preferences.4,5 Persistence of societal pressure and traditional gender roles also contribute to the dropout rate of female dentists in Pakistan. Many young women are often pressured to prioritize family obligations over professional commitments, leading them to leave the dental profession early. Moreover, the absence of part-time options further limits their ability to balance family responsibilities with dental practice. To address these challenges and enable the sustained involvement of female dentists, several measures are necessary. Increasing female representation in leadership roles, make leadership part of the educational curriculum, providing mentorship opportunities, and establishing strong social support systems for women are crucial. Reforms should also focus on improving ergonomics in dental practice, highlighting cultural loopholes for gender biases, equity issues and implementing policies that support working mothers, such as flexible working hours, adequate maternity leave and family care facilities. While efforts have been made to increase the number of female dental students, there is still a long way to go in creating an inclusive and supportive environment for practicing female dentists in Pakistan. By addressing the root causes of the gender disparity and implementing necessary reforms, Pakistani society can break the glass ceiling and allow future generations of women to contribute fully to the field of dental healthcare.

Beyond the Hype: (How) Are Work Regimes Associated with Job Burnout?

Job burnout affects countless workers and constitutes a major issue in working life. Prevention strategies such as offering part-time options and shorter working weeks have been widely advocated to address this issue. However, the relationship between shorter work regimes and burnout risk has not yet been investigated across diverse working populations applying validated measures and frameworks for job burnout. Building on the most recent operationalisation of job burnout and the seminal job demands-resources theory, the purpose of the current study is to investigate whether shorter work regimes are associated with lower burnout risk and whether the job demands-resources explain this association. To this end, a heterogenous sample of 1006 employees representative for age and gender completed the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) and Workplace Stressors Assessment Questionnaire (WSAQ). Our mediation analyses yield a very small but significant indirect association between work regimes and burnout risk through job demands, but no significant total or direct association between work regimes and burnout risk. Our result suggests that employees in shorter work regimes experience slightly fewer job demands, but are equally prone to developing burnout as their full-time counterparts. The latter finding raises concerns about the sustainability of burnout prevention that focuses on mere work regimes instead of the root causes of burnout.

Striking a Balance in School Psychology Training: a Comparison of Blended Delivery Formats and Student Outcomes

As higher education faces declines in federal funding and enrollment, academic programs are increasingly tasked with examining their recruitment and admissions practices, mode and flexibility of delivery, and student retention. In particular, some programs may encounter pressure to introduce part-time or distance learning options into traditionally full-time, on-campus programs. Concurrently, the field of school psychology suffers from a critical nationwide shortage, which further strengthens the impetus for programs to attract and successfully prepare graduate students in greater numbers. In this article, we examine various metrics of student success from one graduate program that concurrently offered program curriculum in two blended delivery formats. In particular, we examine (a) enrollments; (b) timely remediation; (c) retention and degree completion; and (d) intern performance and post-graduation employment across the two delivery formats. We discuss potential benefits and challenges of distance education in school psychology training and offer recommendations for balancing quality and accessibility in curriculum delivery.

Late-Career Expectations: A Survey of Full-Time Faculty Members Who Are 55 or Older at 14 U.S. Medical Schools.

The average age of full-time faculty members at U.S. medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education was 49.5 in 2017, yet the academic medicine community knows little about late-career faculty. The authors sought to characterize full-time faculty members 55 or older and assess their work-life expectations. The authors conducted a survey (May-September 2017) of faculty 55+ at 14 U.S. medical schools. Of the 5,204 faculty members invited, 2,126 (40.8%) responded. The average age of respondents was 62.3, and among those responding to the relevant questions, most identified as male (1,425; 67.2%), white (1,841; 88.3%), and married/partnered (1,803; 85.5%). Fewer than half (915; 45.2%) indicated they had begun thinking about full-time retirement, estimating that they would do so at a mean age of 67.8 (standard deviation = 4.3). Half the respondents (1,004; 50.0%) would consider moving to part-time status. The top 3 personal factors likely to affect retirement decisions were health, postretirement plans, and spouse's/partner's plans. The top 3 professional factors were phased retirement or part-time options, changes in institutional leadership, and presence of a successor. Faculty indicated that they would, post retirement, be interested in ongoing work in teaching/education and research/scholarship and that they wanted health insurance, email, and part-time teaching opportunities. U.S. medical schools employ a rapidly aging workforce. These data indicate that neither faculty members nor institutions are prepared. Faculty affairs and develop ment leaders should champion efforts to engage with late-career faculty to prepare for this changing landscape.

Program-Level Factors Influencing Positive Graduate Outcomes of Physical Therapy Residency Programs.

Physical therapist clinical residency programs vary widely in administrative structure, instructional characteristics, and program design. The impact of program-level factors on resident outcomes such as graduation and board certification is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of program-level factors on participant outcomes of physical therapist residency programs. This was a retrospective cohort study using data from accredited programs from 2010 to 2013. Data were collected on program characteristics such as administrative structure, size, salary, tuition, full- or part-time options, didactic format, and clinical-site structure. The odds ratios were calculated to examine the impact of program characteristics on graduation, board certification, and passing the exam. A logistic regression analysis to determine the combined contribution of these characteristics on the 3 outcomes was performed. Data from 183 residency programs and 1589 residents were analyzed. Participants attending programs that were single site or multifacility, provided live didactic instruction, did not charge tuition, and paid residents ≥ 70% full-time equivalent salary were 9.8 times more likely to graduate, 5.1 times more likely to become board certified, and 3.2 times more likely to pass the specialty board examination. This study did not examine the impact of program location, resident attributes, or resident exposure to patient diagnostic volume and variety. This study has identified some program-level factors that appear to influence the odds of graduating, becoming board-certified, and passing the specialty board examination. This information could inform existing and developing residency programs, as well as applicants, on program-level factors that might influence participant outcomes.

Health, education and employment status of Europeans aged 60 to 69 years: results from SHARE Survey.

The objective of this study was to identify health and education related predictors of employment/self-employment in the age between 60 and 69 yr in Europe. Data were obtained from Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) study-Wave 6. Our final sample (n=13,447) was retrieved from 16 European Union member states, Switzerland and Israel. We used logistic regression model including education level, physical and mental health parameters to predict employment/self-employment vs. retired. Employment/self-employment was associated with higher education status, increased risk for depression, and obesity, but with decreased risk for chronic diseases, loneliness and limitations in daily life activities. Age-appropriate working conditions, part-time options, and enhanced job characteristics may contribute to maintain a good health status and prevent negative aspects of work that can induce the risk for stress and depression.

Who benefits from the night clinic? - Value of apart-time treatment facility

The night clinic which is part of the psychiatric department of the University of Zurich is apart-time treatment option with psychiatric treatment and support in the evening. This study aimed to characterize the patients and detect different functions of the treatment setting. Data of 253 patients covering asix-year period from 2008 up to 2013 were retrospectively assessed using descriptive methods. Subgroups according to the situation before admission and after discharge were compared. Patients admitted from home differed considerably from those who were transferred from apsychiatric ward concerning sociodemographic and clinical factors. They were more frequently single, unemployed, received disability funds and suffered from apsychotic disorder. They were also more likely to be discharged in asupported housing condition. The night clinic serves as an alternative to full inpatient treatment for individuals who have work as well as arehabilitative option for homeless patients with severe mental illness. It contributes to areduction of avoidance of inpatients stays for those groups of patients.

Part-time employment in Jordan as a nursing policy solution.

Explore the potential of a part-time work option for nurses as a strategy for managing domestic markets in Jordan by examining perceptions of working nurses and nursing students in the context of current social and cultural variables. Unemployment among Jordanian nurses has become a reality in recent years. However, labormarkets literature in nursing rarely studies what kind of policy responses should occur during a surplus of nurses. A cross-sectional design structured the study. The perceptions of nurses and students were measured through a questionnaire developed specifically for the purpose of this exploratory study. Both nurses (n=51) and students (n=56) supported the introduction of the new suggested part-time option. However, students were more willing to start working or transfer into part-time work, take payment on hourly basis, and support colleagues to transfer into part-time work. Different solutions were also suggested by participants. The results were useful for providing the foundational data to further study the viability of a part-time work option for Jordanian nurses. The results show how optimistic current and future Jordanian nurses are regarding this employment option. For countries that may need to diversify their employment models due to excess supply of nurses and to address gender imbalances, this work may help inform policy development. Both employed and unemployed nurses will benefit if health care managers consider its application. The flexibility of this option may help improve the quality of life of many nurses. The results of this study provide nursing leaders and managers with foundational evidence that may be applicable in the Jordanian health sector. Although further studies are recommended, nursing leaders and policy makers should consider such a solution.

Openness to Gender and Work-Term Diversity among Physicians in Japan: a Study of Alumni from a Japanese Medical School

Openness to Gender and Work-Term Diversity among Physicians in Japan: a Study of Alumni from a Japanese Medical School

Are part-time workers less productive and underpaid?

About one in five workers across OECD countries is employed part-time, and the share has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis in 2007. Part-time options play an important economic role by providing more flexible working arrangements for both workers and firms. Part-time employment has also contributed substantially to increasing the employment rate, especially among women. However, part-time work comes at a cost of lower wages for workers, mainly because part-time jobs are concentrated in lower paying occupations and sectors, while the impact on firms’ productivity is still not very clear.

Part-time work, work–life balance and gender equality

Part-time working is commonly used by many women across Europe and other developed countries to manage work and care responsibilities. Many more women than men work reduced hours, while at the same time fulfilling normative expectations by taking responsibility for child-rearing and domestic work. In spite of the positive impact of part-time working on work-life balance and overall life satisfaction for some, there are well-known career penalties for part-time workers, including lower status and pay, and fewer training and development opportunities, as well as lower pensions upon retirement. Policy changes, implemented at EU level, have been developed to improve the availability and quality of part-time jobs, but evidence from the UK shows that little has changed: because of the limited part-time options available in highly skilled jobs, many well-qualified women compromise their careers by crowding into lower-level part-time jobs. Not only does part-time work tend to be under-valued at the organisational level, it can serve to maintain traditional gendered patterns of responsibility for domestic work and childcare. In this article, I discuss part-time work and its impact on work-life balance, as well as its potential impact on gender equality. At the same time, suggestions for the improvement of part-time work will be made, using evidence from the UK Quality Part-time Work Fund, which was set up to improve gender equality in the workplace and to increase the availability of quality part-time work.

Marriage and gender inequality: work–family arrangements of Portuguese and British highly qualified women

This article examines work–family reconciliation processes in order to understand if, over the course of marital life, women become socially closer or further away from their partner. Drawing on work–life interviews with highly qualified women in Portugal and Britain, we compare these processes in two societies with different historical and social backgrounds. Findings reveal three main configurations of social (in)equality which emerge during married life: growing inequality in favour of the man, in favour of the woman or equality between spouses. With due attention to the importance of national specific factors, we present three main conclusions. First, (in) equality is built up over the course of marital life and female strategies for reconciling family and work are at the core of this process. Second, the national specificities can mould the effects of cross-national gender mechanisms. Third, the intersection between cross-cultural phenomena such as conservative attitudes towards domestic work and national specificities (such as the availability of part-time options) is a rather complex process which needs further research.

Support for part-time work as a channel to female employment: the moderating effects of national gender empowerment and labour market conditions

Using a multi-source data set collected across eight European countries, this article examines how characteristics of both the organizational environment and the larger national context relate to the organizational-level variable of women's employment. Our study revealed that, in countries that were high in gender empowerment measure (GEM), establishments that were more supportive of part-time work options also employed a higher proportion of women. One reason for this relationship may be that in high-GEM countries offering part-time employment is a way for an organization to signal its support for work–life balance, something that makes it more attractive to women. In countries with low GEM, an establishment's greater support for part-time work was associated with employing a greater proportion of women only when establishments experienced recruitment difficulties. Key differences in gender empowerment between countries are discussed.

Non-standard work arrangements and national context

Summary National context is an important component of organizational settings. Employing a sample of 1893 companies operating in 15 countries we draw from institutional and cultural approaches to examine the relationship between public expenditure on national family-leave policies, employment legislation and culture on one hand and use of two bundles of non-standard work arrangements (NSWAs), namely flexibility patterns and part-time options, in firms on the other. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, we find that all three national level measures influence the use of NSWAs in organizations. The specific relationships vary depending on both context and type of NSWA. These results provide evidence on the diverse impact of public expenditure on family-leave policies, employment protection laws and culture when dealing with NSWA use in organizations.

The economic impact of taking short parental leave: Evaluation of a French reform

There is a growing debate in Europe about whether parental leave should be short or long. The paper evaluates the impact of short parental leave on mothers' employment status and subsequent wages, with a special focus on the part-time parental leave option. It exploits a policy reform that took place in 2004 in France and increased the incentive to prolong the maternity leave after the first birth by six months paid parental leave. Data from the fourth round of the “Generation 98 survey” (CEREQ) and both difference-in-differences and propensity score matching approaches are used to estimate the effect of the reform. The results show that full-time short paid parental leave had almost no effect on labour market participation and wages of first mothers at the global level. However, for part-time paid leave takers, the reform increases the employment rate but decreases the subsequent wages. The wages remain lower two years after child birth, especially for the most educated, who mainly choose the part-time option.

Bench and Bedside? Surgeons’ views on the role of research in surgical training

Internationally, surgical training is facing the challenge of balancing research and clinical experience in the context of reduced working hours. This study aimed to investigate trainees and trainers' views on surgeons participating in full-time research during surgical training. An anonymous voluntary survey was conducted of surgical trainers and trainees in two training systems. To examine surgeons' views across two different training schemes, surgeons were surveyed in Ireland (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) and in a Canadian centre (University of Toronto) between January 2009 and September 2010 (n = 397 respondents). The majority of respondents felt that time spent in research by trainees was important for surgery as a specialty, while 65 % felt that research was important for surgical trainees (trainers 79 %, trainees 60 %, p = 0.001). A higher proportion of Canadian surgeons reported that they enjoyed their time spent in research, compared to Irish surgeons (84 vs. 66 %, p = 0.05). Financial worries and loss of clinical time were common demotivating factors. Full-time research was more popular than part-time options to obtain a post-graduate degree. Most agree that research remains an important component of surgical training. However, there are significant differences in opinion among surgeons in different countries on the precise role and structure of research in surgical training.

Balancing Work and Family

This article describes an investigation of the effect of postpartum employment and occupational type on breastfeeding initiation and duration. Data were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Postpartum employment status was classified as full-time, part-time, and not employed. Among postpartum workers, occupational type was classified as management, professional, service, sales, administrative, and "other." In adjusted analysis, professional women had a 20% greater likelihood of initiating breastfeeding than administrative workers (risk ratio [RR] 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.30). Full-time workers had a 10% lower likelihood of initiating breastfeeding than those not employed (RR 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.97). Among breastfeeding initiators, full-time workers had a 19% lower likelihood of any breastfeeding beyond 6 months than those not employed (RR 0.81; 95% CI, 0.65-0.99). To improve breastfeeding initiation and duration in the United States, part-time options may be an effective solution for working mothers.

Review of registration requirements for new part-time doctors in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada

By the time medical students graduate many wish to work part-time while accommodating other lifestyle interests. To review flexibility of medical registration requirements for provisional registrants in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. Internet-based review of registration bodies of each country, and each state or province in Australia and Canada, supplemented by emails and phone calls seeking clarification of missing or obscure information. Data from 20 regions were examined. Many similarities were found between study countries in their approaches to the registration of new doctors, although there are some regional differences. Most regions (65%) have a provisional registration period of one year. Extending this period was possible in 91% of regions. Part-time options were possible in 75% of regions. All regions required trainees to work in approved practice settings. Only the UK provided comprehensive documentation of their requirements in an accessible format and clearly explaining the options for part-time work. Australia appeared to be more flexible than other countries with respect to part- and full-time work requirements. All countries need to examine their registration requirements to introduce more flexibility wherever possible, as a strategy for addressing workforce shortages.