Medical students’ knowledge of doctors’ working conditions in Malta

Abstract

Aims: To determine the level of knowledge of medical students at different stages of the medical degree course regarding working conditions of junior doctors in Malta and postgraduate training. Methods: All students from the Malta Medical School were asked to fill in an online questionnaire containing questions about being a junior doctor in Malta. Results: A sample of 173 students was collected from the 5 years of Maltese medical school. 80⋅35% noted passion for the science as the reason for their chosen career path. Other notable choices included diversity in work (48⋅55%), pay (20⋅23%), job security (35⋅26%), notoriety (17⋅34%) and altruism (16⋅18%), lifestyle (14⋅45%), colleagues/friends (10⋅4%). When asked from where they got their knowledge about the career, responders noted doctors (53⋅18%), friends (43⋅93%), family (42⋅77%) and media (34⋅68%). 36⋅99% believe a junior doctor works 50–60 hours/week and 30⋅06% believe they work 60–70 hours/week. On being asked how much a junior doctor in Malta was paid; 33⋅53% responded 1500–2000 euros/month; 31⋅79% answered 1000–1500 euros/month and 26⋅59% answered 2000–2500 euros/month. 10⋅98% of students believe that postgraduate training lasts 1–2 years. 31⋅21% of individuals believed post-graduate training lasts between 6–8 years and 22⋅54% believe it lasts >8 years. 83⋅82% of students said that there is not enough awareness about the lifestyle and specifics of a career in the medical field and most respondents noted younger senior trainees (40⋅46%) or junior doctors (33⋅53%) as the ideal sources of this information. 35⋅84% of the students believe that this information should be given before entering medical school with another 34⋅68% believing it should come within the first 2 years of medical school. Conclusions: This study shows that a significant proportion of students don’t know important specifics about the career and lifestyle awaiting them once they graduate highlighting the importance of some form of education on these topics.