title: On-call stress among Finnish anaesthetists.
abstract: We investigated on-call stress and its consequences among anaesthetists. A questionnaire was sent to all working Finnish anaesthetists (n = 550), with a response rate of 60%. Four categories of on-call workload and a sum variable of stress symptoms were formed. The anaesthetists had the greatest on-call workload among Finnish physicians. In our sample, 68% felt stressed during the study. The most important causes of stress were work and combining work with family. The study showed a positive correlation between stress symptoms and on-call workload (p = 0.009). Moderate burnout was present in 18%vs 45% (p = 0.008) and exhaustion in 32% and 68% (p = 0.015), in the lowest vs highest workload category, respectively. The symptoms were significantly associated with stress, gender, perceived sleep deprivation, suicidal tendencies and sick leave. Being frequently on call correlates with severe stress symptoms and these symptoms are associated with sick leave.
authors.affiliation: Senior Anaesthetist, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, PO Box 340, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lindfors
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Nurmi
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Meretoja
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Luukkonen
authors.forename: A-M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Viljanen
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Leino
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Härmä
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000523:psychology*; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data