title: Personal life and working conditions of trainees and young specialists in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to assess the balance between the personal and professional lives of trainees and young European specialists in clinical microbiology (CM) and infectious diseases (ID), and determine differences according to gender, country of training, workplace and specialty. The Steering Committee of the Trainee Association of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) devised a questionnaire survey consisting, beyond the demographic questions, of nine yes/no questions, 11 Likert scale self-evaluations and one open-response item on parenthood, working conditions, quality of life, alcohol consumption and burnout. This anonymous survey in English was held between April and July 2015 among European CM/ID trainees and young specialists (<3 years after training completion). Responses from 416 participants with a mean age of 32 years [standard deviation (SD) 5 years] were analysed. Females and physicians from Northern/Western Europe (NWE) benefit more from paternity/maternity leaves even during training than their counterparts. Among all respondents, only half of breastfeeding mothers enjoyed the benefit of working hours flexibility. Only two-thirds of respondents found their working environment stimulating. In comparison to colleagues from other parts of Europe, trainees and young specialists from Southern/Eastern Europe (SEE) had less frequent regular meetings with mentors/supervisors and head of departments where trainees' issues are discussed. Also, physicians from SEE were more frequently victims of workplace mobbing/bullying in comparison to those from other regions. Finally, multivariate analysis showed that female gender, SEE region and ID specialty were associated with burnout feelings. Female gender and country of work from SEE largely determine satisfactory working conditions, the possibility of parenthood leaves, amount of leisure time, mobbing experiences and burnout feelings among European CM/ID trainees and young specialists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Maraolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. davidsyong@gmail.com.
authors.forename: D S Y
authors.initials: DSY
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CISA, Health Research Centre of Angola, Caxito, Angola.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cortez
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Cantonal Hospital "Dr. Irfan Ljubijankic", Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dedić
authors.affiliation: University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic", Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dušek
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Instituto de Investigación del Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin-Quiros
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Maver
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Giessen and Marburg GmbH, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Skevaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yusuf
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poljak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanguinetti
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, DZIF Center, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tacconelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D055552:Infectious Disease Medicine; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D013038:Specialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires