"Work-Life-Balance" im Arztberuf - geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede in den Erwartungen von Medizinstudierenden: Ergebnisse einer Online-Umfrage in Baden-Württemberg

Background: Considering the growing demand of medical care in the future, the current shortage of physicians requires concepts to meet the challenges of changing expectations regarding working conditions. Methods: In the Competence Centre of General Practice in Baden-Wuerttemberg, an online survey of medical students was conducted in order to evaluate gender-specific differences regarding the expectations about future working conditions in the medical profession. A questionnaire developed for that purpose contained several aspects, e. g."work-life balance" or"personal values". Gender-specific differences were examined by means of the Mann-Whitney U test. Moreover a linear regression model with gender, age and number of semesters as independent variables was used. Results: A total of 1,299 medical students participated in the survey. Flexible working hours were important for 57.1% of women and 50.4% of men. Compatibility of family and work was an important issue for 92.3% of women and 86.7% of men. However, the possibility of working part-time was important for 72.7% of women but only 22.2% of men. Besides gender, age and number of semesters also influenced the appraisal of"work-life balance" and"personal values". Conclusions: This study reveals gender-specific differences in expectations regarding future work-life balance. To achieve sustainable physician care in the light of a growing proportion of female physicians, gender-specific organization of working time is important to ensure the compatibility of family and work.