Kavallaris Maria, Meachem Sarah J, Hulett Mark D, West Catherine M, Pitt Rachael E, Chesters Jennifer J, Laffan Warren S, Boreham Paul R, Khachigian Levon M
Pharmacoproteomics program, Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Med J Aust. 2008 May 5;188(9):520-4. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01766.x.
To report on the sentiments of the Australian health and medical research (HMR) workforce on issues related to employment and funding opportunities.
DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In August 2006, the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) invited all of its members to participate in an online survey. The survey took the form of a structured questionnaire that focused on career aspirations, career development and training opportunities, attitudes toward moving overseas to work, and employment conditions for medical researchers.
Researchers' views on career opportunities, funding opportunities, salary and quality of the working environment; impact of these views on retaining a skilled medical research workforce in Australia.
Of the 1258 ASMR members, 379 responded (30% response rate). Ninety-six per cent of respondents were currently based in Australia; 70% had a PhD or equivalent; and 58% were women. Most respondents worked at hospital research centres (37%), independent research institutes (28%) or university departments (24%). Sixty-nine per cent had funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, with the remainder funded by other sources. Over the previous 5 years, 6% of respondents had left active research and 73% had considered leaving. Factors influencing decisions about whether to leave HMR included shortage of funding (91%), lack of career development opportunities (78%) and poor financial rewards (72%). Fifty-seven per cent of respondents were directly supported by grants or fellowships, with only 16% not reliant on grants for their continuing employment; 62% believed that funding had increased over the previous 5 years, yet only 30% perceived an increase in employment opportunities in HMR. Among the respondents, twice as many men as women held postgraduate qualifications and earned >or= dollars 100 000 a year.
Employment insecurity and lack of funding are a cause of considerable anxiety among Australian health and medical researchers. This may have important implications for the recruitment and retention of researchers.
报告澳大利亚卫生与医学研究（HMR）工作队伍对与就业和资金机会相关问题的看法。
设计、背景与参与者：2006年8月，澳大利亚医学研究协会（ASMR）邀请其所有成员参与一项在线调查。该调查采用结构化问卷的形式，重点关注职业抱负、职业发展与培训机会、对前往海外工作的态度以及医学研究人员的就业条件。
研究人员对职业机会、资金机会、薪资和工作环境质量的看法；这些看法对澳大利亚留住熟练医学研究工作队伍的影响。
在1258名ASMR成员中，379人做出回应（回应率为30%）。96%的受访者目前在澳大利亚；70%拥有博士学位或同等学历；58%为女性。大多数受访者在医院研究中心（37%）、独立研究机构（28%）或大学部门（24%）工作。69%的人获得了国家卫生与医学研究委员会的资金，其余由其他来源提供资金。在过去5年中，6%的受访者离开了活跃的研究领域，73%的人曾考虑离开。影响是否离开HMR决策的因素包括资金短缺（91%）、缺乏职业发展机会（78%）和经济回报不佳（72%）。57%的受访者直接获得了资助或奖学金，只有16%的人在继续工作中不依赖资助；62%的人认为在过去5年中资金有所增加，但只有30%的人认为HMR的就业机会有所增加。在受访者中，拥有研究生学历且年收入≥10万澳元的男性人数是女性的两倍。
就业不稳定和资金缺乏是澳大利亚卫生与医学研究人员相当焦虑的一个原因。这可能对研究人员的招募和留用产生重要影响。
