Interns from Zurich are running to the limit: “We want 42 hours!”

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38 hours a week for everyone? Only work four days instead of five? What becomes reality for the first companies in Switzerland is unthinkable in hospitals. According to studies, doctors in training work an average of 56 hours per week with a workload of 100 percent – ​​much more than allowed.

In the canton of Zurich, young doctors no longer want to accept this. At the end of last year, the Association of Assistant Doctors VSAO Zurich terminated the collective labor agreement with the cantonal clinics in protest. This established a weekly working time of 50 hours. The young doctors of Zurich want to reduce this to 42 hours. Plus four hours that must be reserved for mandatory further training.

Now the trainee doctors are drawing attention to their concerns with a protest song, increasing pressure on hospitals. “I became a doctor to treat patients, in fact, I sat behind the computer all day,” the lyrics say. Dozens of young doctors can be seen dancing in white coats and holding protest banners in front of the main building of ETH Zurich.

“We want to make a statement”

The aim of the campaign is to show – funny scenes or not – that we mean business, says a participating physician assistant who does not want to be named. “We want to set an example.” The current working conditions are neither fair nor up to date and have led to many young professionals quitting their jobs. In addition, there is often a relationship of dependency that prevents correct time registration for fear of career disadvantages.

In particular, the song criticizes excessive bureaucracy. “There is a lot of pointless work that is purely occupational therapy. If you omit this, you can quickly save an hour of work per day,” the young doctor is convinced.

Doctors are not just fighting for less work out of their own self-interest – the key word is ‘work-life balance’. They also worry about patient safety when they have to make tired decisions.

The fear of burnout is great

A survey among 4,500 people affected by the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” also showed how precarious the circumstances actually are: in practice, the target hours are not always adhered to, the trainee doctors complained. 39 percent say they work eleven or more hours a day and hardly have time for life outside of work. 56 percent of respondents fear burnout, and more than two-thirds of young doctors have already considered leaving the profession.

Last spring, then GLP Zurich city councilor and current national councilor Patrick Hässig (45) together with SP city councilor Reis Luzhnica (34) called for a reduction in weekly working hours to 42 hours for assistant doctors in urban health organizations by by means of a motion.

The fact that this model is well received is evident from a pilot project at the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) in 2022. The Institute for Intensive Care Medicine there has reduced the working hours of its interns to 42+4 hours – with positive consequences. Despite the lack of trained staff, the institute no longer has problems recruiting new employees. One reason why the working hours model was definitively introduced last year.

Shorter working hours at other hospitals as well

“The pilot has shown that it is possible – even in a department such as intensive care. There is absolutely nothing wrong with implementing shorter working hours across the board,” says the junior doctor. It is currently unclear whether the model will actually be implemented across the board.

The USZ is aware that the expectations of doctors in training regarding working conditions have changed in recent years as a result of social changes. “We want to take that into account. The purpose of the pilot was to gain initial experience,” the USZ said.

And yet the model is likely to become a model throughout Switzerland: two hospitals shortened the working hours of their physician assistants at the beginning of this year. At the Integrated Psychiatry Winterthur – Zürcher Unterland (IPW), weekly working hours were reduced from 50 to 46 hours. And the Swiss Paraplegic Center (SPZ) has reduced working hours from 48 to 46 hours.

Last May, a weekly working time of 42 hours for doctors in training was introduced at the Center for Internal Medicine of the Hirslanden Clinic Aarau.

Source:Blick