BJA Advance Access published online on August 17, 2007
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/aem233
Enjoying work or burdened by it? How anaesthetists experience and handle difficulties at work: a qualitative study
1 Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, University of Uppsala, Uppsala Science Park, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
2 Clinic of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Uppsala Academic Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
* Corresponding author: Clinic of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Uppsala Academic Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. E-mail: jan{at}trolin.net
Background: The aim of this study was to explore difficulties at work from anaesthetists’ own perspective and to examine how anaesthetists handle and cope with situations that are perceived as difficult and potentially stressful.
Methods: Two sets of interviews were conducted with 19 specialist anaesthetists in Sweden. The first set of interviews aimed at finding how the anaesthetists experienced difficulties at work. It consisted of in-depth interviews based on one open-ended question. We analysed the interviews with a phenomenological method, looking for themes in anaesthetists’ descriptions of difficulties at work. In the second set, the interviews were semi-structured with open-ended questions, based on themes found in the first interview set. These interviews aimed at exploring how the interviewees described their ways of handling difficulties and how they coped with potentially stressful situations.
Results: Analysis of the first set of interviews resulted in five themes, describing how the anaesthetists experienced difficulties at work. All interviewees talked about difficulties related to more than one of the themes. The second set of interviews revealed two main categories of ways of handling difficulties. First, problem solving consisted of descriptions of methods for handling difficult situations which aimed at solving problems, and second, coping strategies described ways of appraising potentially stressful situations that minimized stress, despite the problem not being solved.
Conclusions: The anaesthetists interviewed in this study maintained that they enjoyed work and could see no external obstacles to doing a good job. They had arrived at a reconciliation of their work with its inherent difficulties and problems. Getting access to their coping strategies might help young anaesthetists to come to terms with their work.
Keywords: anaesthetist, risks; education, junior staff; stress
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. Masursky, F. Dexter, M. P. Garver, and N. A. Nussmeier Incentive Payments to Academic Anesthesiologists for Late Afternoon Work Did Not Influence Turnover Times Anesth. Analg., May 1, 2009; 108(5): 1622 - 1626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Perry, J. G. Larsson, I. Holmstrom, and U. Rosenqvist Burdened by training not by anaesthesia Br. J. Anaesth., April 1, 2008; 100(4): 560 - 561. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. F. Smith Reaching the parts that are hard to reach: expanding the scope of professional education in anaesthesia Br. J. Anaesth., October 1, 2007; 99(4): 453 - 456. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
E-letters:
Read all E-letters
- Burdened by training not by anaesthesia
- Rachel K Perry
- British Journal of Anaesthesia, 20 Nov 2007 [Full text]
- Re: Burdened by training not by anaesthesia
- Jan G Larsson, et al.
- British Journal of Anaesthesia, 22 Jan 2008 [Full text]