Work-Related Stress and Management in Healthcare

The article discusses the issue of work-related stress and stress management in the medical profession, specifically highlighting the challenges faced by doctors in suburban and rural areas due to a shortage of medical talent. The example of Channel Medical Centre in Kingston, Tasmania, and Woodcroft Medical Centre near Adelaide, shows that even with three full-time GPs and seven doctors respectively, the workload is still overwhelming, leading to long hours and burnout. The article also mentions the struggles faced by rural doctors who are overworked and under a lot of stress due to the doctor-to-patient ratio.

BSMAN3003 Exam Case Study – Semester 2, 2016
Work-related stress and stress management
One of the more distressing tasks that Carol Oates performs is turning away prospective
patients. 'It's dreadful to have to say "sorry we can't see you",’ says the practice manager at
Channel Medical Centre in Kingston, a fast-growing suburb of Hobart, Tasmania.
Channel's three full-time and three part-time GPs already see up to fifty patients each day
on eleven-hour shifts, and the clinic has been unable to find enough doctors to ease the
workload. 'It is full-on work. The days are long,’ says Oates. 'There are days when doctors
work through without a break, sometimes not even a cup of tea, starting at about 8 and
finishing at 7.30’.
The doctor shortage is also taking its toll at the Woodcroft Medical Centre near Adelaide,
where seven doctors (3.5 full-time equivalent) are trying to cope with the needs of 10
000 registered patients. The phones start ringing at 8.15 am and rarely stop until the clinic
closes. 'The first hour every day is just crazy, as patients scramble to get an appointment’, says
Woodcroft's principal GP, John Pakos, who closed his books to new patients three years ago.
'We have been struggling. A lot of other surgeries around us have closed.'
While doctors in Kingston, Woodcroft and other suburban communities have their share
of work overload, the shortage of medical talent and its effect on practitioners is even more
acute in country Australia. 'Many of the rural doctors are overworked and under a lot of
stress,' warns Tony Van Der Spek, who runs a practice in Bendigo, Victoria, where the
doctor-to-patient ratio is 1:2000.
Robert McKimm was one of three obstetricians in Sale, Victoria, two decades ago, but he
was the only remaining obstetrician in the I990s. Fortunately, a second specialist recently
moved into the area to ease the workload. 'If you lose a certain number of your colleagues,
you get more and more responsibility thrown on your shoulders, to the point where it's no
longer a viable lifestyle,' says McKimm.
Christine Jeffries-Stokes has had an equally challenging time. For two years the Kalgoorlie
doctor was the only paediatrician between Perth and Alice Springs, robbing her of any
personal time off. 'I have been doing this for ten years now and I have repeatedly told
the Health Department that I cannot keep going on like this - my health and my family are
suffering,' she wrote in a letter to the Western Australia government, A second specialist
now works in the area and a third doctor from Perth is completing paediatric training in
Kalgoorlie. 'Hopefully it's just going to make my life normal,' said Jeffries-Stokes on hearing
about the most recent appointment.
Source: McShane, S. & Travaglione, T. (2007). Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim. (Second edition).
North Ryde, N.S.W.: McGraw Hill. P201.