Job-sharing in paediatric training in Australia: availability and trainee perceptions

Objective: To examine the current availability of job-sharing in paediatric training hospitals in Australia and to evaluate job-sharing from the train ees' perspective. Design: National survey with structured telephone interviews and postal que stionnaires. Setting: The eight major paediatric training hospitals in Australia. Participants: Directors of Paediatric Physician Training (DPPTs) at each ho spital (or a staff member nominated by them) provided information by phone interview regarding job-sharing. All paediatric trainees who job-shared in 1998 (n=34) were sent written questionnaires, of which 25 were returned. Results: Hospitals differed in terms of whether a trainee was required to g ive a reason for wishing to job-share, and what reasons were acceptable. On e hospital stated that two specialty units (Intensive Care and Neonatal Int ensive Care) were excluded from job-sharing, and another stated that certai n units were unlikely to be allocated job-sharers. The remaining six hospit als said that all units were available for job-sharing, but the majority of their trainees disagreed. Only one hospital had a cap on the number of job -share positions available yearly. Trainees perceived benefits of job-shari ng to include decreased tiredness, increased enthusiasm for work, and the a bility to strike a balance between training and other aspects of life. Trai nees believed job-sharing did not adversely affect the quality of service p rovided to patients, and that part-time training was not of lower quality t han full-time training. Conclusions: Job-sharing in Australian paediatric training hospitals varies in terms of the number of positions available, eligibility criteria, and w hich units are available for job-sharing. In our survey, trainees' experien ce of job-sharing was overwhelmingly positive.