Emergency medicine as a growing career in Iran: an Internet-based survey

doi:10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2016.03.006

Abstract

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: In Iran, few studies have evaluated emergency medicine as a career option. In the present study, we aimed to find out how Iranian emergency-medicine specialists view their specialty as a career.
METHODS: Following a qualitative study, a Likert-scale questionnaire was developed. Iranian emergency physician specialists who had at least two years' job experience were contacted via email. A uniform link to a Web-based survey and a cover letter that explained the survey were sent to the recipients. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test and post hoc analysis to determine the differences between demographic subgroups.
RESULTS: A total of 109 eligible responses were received, a response rate of 72.63%. Of the responders, 57.8% were 30-40 years of age, 86.2% were male, 86.2% were single, 84.4% were faculty members and 90.8% had fewer than 10 years' job experience. The main problems occurring during the career of Iranian emergency physicians were: insufficient income, inadequate recognition of the specialty by the community, inadequate union support, insecurity in the emergency wards, overcrowding, job stresses and night shifts. Despite insufficiency of income, Iranian emergency physicians (EPs) did not care about the financial benefits of patient care. Academic activity had positive effects on the perspectives of Iranian emergency physicians regarding their careers.
CONCLUSION: Iranian emergency physicians and leaders in emergency medicine should struggle to improve the present situation, aiming at an ideal state.

Key words: Emergency medicine, Career, Survey

Shervin Farahmand, Ehsan Karimialavijeh, Hojjat Sheikh Mottahar Vahedi, Amirhossein Jahanshir. Emergency medicine as a growing career in Iran: an Internet-based survey[J]. World Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2016, 7(3): 196-202.

Figures/Tables 3

Table 1

Figure 1.

Table 2

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Factors	Item	Cronbach Alpha
Career has flexible schedule	A: I have enough free time	0.7
	E: I do not have adequate time to research
	P: My work schedule is flexible
Career has hopeful future	B: I have opportunities for career progression	0.78
	C: My career has a promising future
	D: My income is sufficient to cover my living expenses
	S: I would choose emergency medicine as my profession again, given the chance
Career is established	F: My career has been recognized in the community	0.75
	G: Emergency medicine has good union support
	N: Other specialists do not cooperate with me
Career has hazards	I: My shifts are overcrowded	0.87
	J: My career is stressful
	K: I am worried about contagious diseases
	L: I feel secure in my work environment
	M: I have few job opportunities
Career nature	H: The excitement in my career is an advantage	0.9
	O: When I deal with my patients, I do not care about financial issues
	Q: Night shifts are a disadvantage in my career
	R: I can fulfill my patient's expatiations with my expertise

Characteristics	N=109 (%)
Gender
Male	94 (86.2)
Female	15 (13.8)
Age, in years
30-20	13 (11.9)
40-30	63 (57.8)
50-40	33 (30.3)
Marital status
Single	94 (86.2)
Married	15 (13.8)
Academic activity
Faculty member	92 (84.4)
Non-academic	17 (15.6)
Work experience, in years
0-5	51 (46.8)
5-10	48 (44)
10-15	10 (9.2)

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