Recently the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons published the results of their 5 yearly census. I love a good census as much as I love taking a picture of myself! Here are some fascinating stats:
70% of surgeons reported inadequate Wi-Fi in their principal hospital practice. How can we tweet our operations if there’s no Wi-Fi?
When establishing surgical practice, family ties were rated as most important factor followed by lifestyle factors. Not money!
Surgeons aged 70 and over form 9% of Aussie and 6% of Kiwi surgical workforce. Old dogs still learn new tricks in surgery.
Next generation: 70% of surgeons are actively engaged in training future surgeons. Proud to be part of this family.
1 in 6 surgeons spend more than 10hrs per week engaged in supervising and training future surgeons. We are serious about producing great surgeons.
Passing the baton: More than 50% of surgeons are planning for their replacement as part of retirement plan.
We work rural! 53% of Australian & 84% of Kiwi surgeons worked either full or part time in a rural or regional area.
Contrary to public perception that surgeons attempt to limit numbers, 70% believe that more surgeons required to meet demand.
50% of surgeons report inadequate teaching recognition and administrative support. We love our work and we love teaching. Don’t stress us up with paperwork.
1 in 6 surgeons under 40 reported having taken no leave or less than 1 week in the last 12months. Is that why we’re angry all the time?
Surgeons work 51hr per week. 11hr more than the average Australian working week of 39.9hr. Is that why we’re always tired?
More than 20% of surgeons are working more than the recommended emergency oncall period of 1:4. There’s just not enough of us around.
Where does our stress come from? 1 in 4 surgeons aged 30-60 reported experiencing high or extreme stress due to administrative interference.
The main source of workplace stress for surgeons is administrative interference. That’s right! Not clinical duties or difficult cases. It’s admin that stresses us up!
And confirming what we already know: Administrative interference was ranked by surgeons as more stressful than litigation!
Interesting findings. If you did a census of your own specialty, what would you find?
It’s been a few weeks since my last surgery.