[Working and living conditions of Danish medical assistant]

In spring 1988 almost 6,000 members of the Danish Association of Young Doctors answered a questionnaire containing 132 questions about their working and living conditions. The Danish study shows that many young doctors are worried by uncertain conditions of employment, lack of opportunities for further training, and demanding emergency duty. Traditional sex role patterns in the families afflict the women doctors who have difficulty in holding their own in the keen competition. Stress in different forms is regarded as a problem by about 25 per cent. Almost half of the respondents had wholly or partially regretted their choice of a career and one fifth had considered changing their profession. The physicians own occupational injuries are substantially (24 per cent) underreported. Swedish and Finnish studies indicate that the problems in the medical profession are similar in the Nordic countries.