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Physicians who do not take sick leave: hazardous heroes?
1Department of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway. e.o.rosvold@samfunnsmed.uio.no
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
|May 18, 2001
Summary
Many physicians work while sick, even with infectious diseases, potentially harming themselves and others. Factors like age and job satisfaction influence this risky behavior.
Area of Science:
- Medical practice
- Occupational health
Background:
- Physicians often struggle to accept personal illness and avoid taking sick leave.
- This behavior leads to physicians working while ill, potentially exposing others.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report on diseases physicians work with.
- To identify factors associated with physicians working while ill.
Main Methods:
- Anonymous mailed questionnaire distributed to 1,476 Norwegian physicians.
- A 70% response rate was achieved as part of a health survey.
Main Results:
- 80% of physicians worked while ill, with over half having infectious diseases.
- Working while ill was linked to younger age (30-39), non-hospital clinical roles, recent medical treatment, and low job satisfaction.
Conclusions:
- A significant number of physicians work with infections and other illnesses.
- This practice poses risks to physicians, patients, and healthcare staff.
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