School of Medicine Sydney, Rural Clinical School (Wagga Wagga), The University of Notre Dame Australia, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
Department of Medical Imaging, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2024 Mar;68(2):117-125. doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.13598. Epub 2023 Nov 16.
Women comprise almost 30% of practising clinical radiologists in Australia. Despite three-quarters of clinical radiologists working in private practice, there is limited research regarding the experience of female radiologists in private practice and issues surrounding work-life balance. The primary aim of this study was to identify gender issues within private radiology and investigate work-life balance, focusing on issues relevant for female practitioners.
Clinical radiologists working in private practice at five major Australian private radiology service providers were sent an email on behalf of the researchers, containing study information and a link to an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis and Fisher's exact test were used. Binary logistic regression was used to determine odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Responses to short-answer questions were analysed manually and grouped into themes.
There were consistent gender differences in perceptions of gender and its implication upon working and career progression in radiology private practice. There was near unanimous agreement that private radiologists should be able to work flexible/reduced working hours for a proportionate decrease in pay. Two themes with distinct gender differences related to pay equity and transparency. Key themes relating to work-life balance for private radiologists included workload, setting boundaries and flexibility of work hours in private radiology.
This preliminary survey highlights areas related to work-life balance and gender issues relevant for female practitioners in private practice radiology in Australia that can be targeted for further investigation and improvement, namely pay equity and transparency, and part-time leadership opportunities.
在澳大利亚，女性临床放射科医生占执业医生的近 30%。尽管四分之三的临床放射科医生在私人诊所工作，但关于私人诊所女性放射科医生的经验以及工作与生活平衡问题的研究有限。本研究的主要目的是确定私人放射科中的性别问题，并调查工作与生活平衡，重点关注女性从业者相关的问题。
代表研究人员向五家主要的澳大利亚私人放射科服务提供商中的私人执业临床放射科医生发送了一封电子邮件，其中包含研究信息和在线问卷链接。使用描述性统计、卡方分析和 Fisher 精确检验。使用二元逻辑回归确定优势比和 95%置信区间。对简短答案的回复进行手动分析并分为主题。
在私人放射实践中对性别及其对工作和职业发展的影响的看法存在一致的性别差异。几乎一致认为，私人放射科医生应该能够灵活/减少工作时间，以相应减少薪酬。与薪酬公平和透明度相关的两个具有明显性别差异的主题。与私人放射科医生的工作与生活平衡相关的主要主题包括工作量、设定界限和私人放射科工作时间的灵活性。
这项初步调查强调了与澳大利亚私人执业放射科女性从业者相关的工作与生活平衡和性别问题的领域，这些领域可以作为进一步调查和改进的目标，即薪酬公平和透明度，以及兼职领导机会。
