Premium
Perceptions in health and medical research careers: the Australian Society for Medical Research Workforce Survey
Author(s) -
Kavallaris Maria,
Meachem Sarah J,
Hulett Mark D,
West Catherine M,
Pitt Rachael E,
Chesters Jennifer J,
Laffan Warren S,
Boreham Paul R,
Khachigian Levon M
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01766.x
Subject(s) - workforce , salary , economic shortage , career development , work (physics) , workforce development , medical education , psychology , political science , public relations , medicine , government (linguistics) , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , law , engineering
Objective: To report on the sentiments of the Australian health and medical research (HMR) workforce on issues related to employment and funding opportunities. Design, setting and participants: In August 2006, the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) invited all of its members to participate in an online survey. The survey took the form of a structured questionnaire that focused on career aspirations, career development and training opportunities, attitudes toward moving overseas to work, and employment conditions for medical researchers. Main outcome measures: Researchers’ views on career opportunities, funding opportunities, salary and quality of the working environment; impact of these views on retaining a skilled medical research workforce in Australia. Results: Of the 1258 ASMR members, 379 responded (30% response rate). Ninety‐six per cent of respondents were currently based in Australia; 70% had a PhD or equivalent; and 58% were women. Most respondents worked at hospital research centres (37%), independent research institutes (28%) or university departments (24%). Sixty‐nine per cent had funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, with the remainder funded by other sources. Over the previous 5 years, 6% of respondents had left active research and 73% had considered leaving. Factors influencing decisions about whether to leave HMR included shortage of funding (91%), lack of career development opportunities (78%) and poor financial rewards (72%). Fifty‐seven per cent of respondents were directly supported by grants or fellowships, with only 16% not reliant on grants for their continuing employment; 62% believed that funding had increased over the previous 5 years, yet only 30% perceived an increase in employment opportunities in HMR. Among the respondents, twice as many men as women held postgraduate qualifications and earned ≥ $100 000 a year. Conclusions: Employment insecurity and lack of funding are a cause of considerable anxiety among Australian health and medical researchers. This may have important implications for the recruitment and retention of researchers.