Children paying price for shortage of doctors

First Person

Yang Qiuli is a pediatrician at Xuzhou Children's Hospital in Jiangsu province. CHINA DAILY

Work pressure, low pay add to talent drain

I started as a pediatrician in 2001, and was recently transferred to a management role. In my experience, a pediatrician's job is more difficult than that of other doctors, and the talent drain of pediatricians is more serious, resulting in a shortage.

The work of pediatricians is more challenging because, unlike adults, children, especially babies, cannot clearly express their condition, which poses difficulties for pediatricians in diagnosis and treatment.

On the other hand, children attract more attention from society and pediatricians may face higher risks if accidents happen during treatment.

Another reason for the loss is tense doctor-patient relations, which has put a lot of pressure on pediatricians. Many parents want to see their children recover quickly or get better immediately after treatment, but there are certain conditions that medical treatment cannot cure.

Despite more challenging work, pediatricians, in general, earn less than doctors treating adult diseases. This is also a major reason why many young pediatricians choose to quit.

A few days ago one of my colleagues resigned because she could not stand the heavy workload.

On average, Xuzhou Children's Hospital receives 3,000 patients every day, and pediatricians generally work with a full load. It is not uncommon for pediatricians to work for 24 hours straight to cope with the demand from the large number of patients. A pediatrician can receive more than 80 patients per day during peak seasons.

Heavy workload, less pay and higher risks－all these have contributed to the loss of pediatricians. And, in turn, the shortage of pediatricians results in a heavier workload. This creates a bad cycle.

We hope to see a better relationship between doctors and patients, so patients can have more trust in doctors. We also hope the government can make more favorable policies to increase the appeal of being a pediatrician.

I believe pediatricians will have a better working environment with the current medical reform, so it will benefit everyone.

Yang Qiuli was speakingto Wang Xiaodong.