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Occupational Stress Among Doctors ‐ Role of Duty Schedule and De‐Stressing Techniques.
Author(s) -
Khan Mohammed Moizuddin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.09035
Subject(s) - occupational stress , stress (linguistics) , psychology , active listening , medicine , occupational safety and health , duty , clinical psychology , linguistics , philosophy , theology , communication , pathology
Job or occupational stress is something we all face as employees or employers and we all handle it differently. It is a mismatch between the individual capabilities and organizational demands. Presently various challenges are faced by doctors making medical profession a tough job leading to occupational stress. Doctors are involved in long and irregular working hours which is resulting in varying levels of exhaustion and ultimately occupational stress. Emergencies or night duties are an inseparable part of medical profession so its desirable to find best possible ways to manage occupational stress. Aim & Objectives To evaluate the role of emergencies and night duties in causing occupational stress among doctors. To study the effect of de‐stressing techniques used by doctors to cope up with occupational stress. Material & Methods This is a cross sectional Observational study conducted in Indian doctors. Structured pro‐forma was used to collect demographic data, professional work pattern, exercising habits etc. To assess the psychological occupational stress a standardized professional psychological stress test questioner was used. Results It was seen that the doctors who attended more than 6 calls/week the percentage of occupational stress was found to be on higher than who attended less numbers. 28.89% had moderate stress while 13.33% and 6.67% were having stress or major stress. There was statistically significant association between emergency call/week and psychological occupational stress score. Physical exercise, plying sports, de‐stressing techniques like listening to music, net surfing were significant in coping with psychological occupational stress. Conclusion Occupational stress among doctors can be managed effectively by adopting a combination of measures which include modification in working schedules, regular psychological stress monitoring at institutional level and incorporating healthy lifestyle practices like physical exercise, sports etc. at personal level. Support or Funding Information College of Medicine, Dar Al uloom University, Riyadh