We’ve seen the television series where doctors practically live at the hospital, and we’ve heard the stories about exhausted medical professionals working days on end.
The truth is, though, working hours for doctors aren’t as long as we’re led to believe and although working hours in Australia can be lengthy, there are increasingly safeguards in place to protect them and the patients they look after. So just how long do doctors working hours stretch to in Australia?
It is widely recognised that night shift, shifts consisting of too many hours in total, and working too many shifts are detrimental to the health of workers, and doctors are no different.
The AMA has identified this and brought out a national code of practice, highlighting dangers and ways to minimise them, including a risk assessment asking for details on the hours, and spread of hours, undertaken by doctors.
Their recommendations for schedulers include providing doctors with the information on the risks associated with working hours more than 14 in a shift, that cover at least two evenings and the like. Of course, not all workplaces adhere to these risk minimisations, but it pays to be aware of the effects on health.
In the 2011 census, it was found that doctors’ hours average about 42 a week. Male medicos usually worked longer hours than females (and females work part-time more often), with specialists working on average more than GPs.
And while some shifts have been recorded that see doctors working over 40 hours in a single shift, these are exceedingly rare. If the shift is to be more than 16 hours, napping at ‘strategic’ times is strongly encouraged.
And the AMA in Victoria states clearly that, for doctors in training, if their roster pattern is deemed high risk they are allowed to refuse the work. This is seen as a swing towards safer working hours for doctors in Australia.
For a roster to be seen as ‘high risk’ it can include criteria such as no stable direction or speed of rotation, or that a roster has changed so much so as to be unpredictable.
If you need more information on doctor working hours Australia, then speak with experts in the field. At HealthStaff Recruitment, our professionals are happy to answer any questions you may have about working and living in Australia. Speak with us today.
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