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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine

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Open Access 01-12-2021 | Research article

Regional disparity of certified teaching hospitals on physicians’ workload and wages, and popularity among medical students in Japan

Authors: Yutaro Ikki, Masaaki Yamada, Michikazu Sekine

Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

Regional disparities in the working conditions of medical doctors have not been fully assessed in Japan. We aimed to clarify these differences in hospital characteristics: doctors’ workload, wages, and popularity among medical students by city population sizes.

Methods

We targeted 423 teaching hospitals certified by the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine and assessed the working conditions of physicians specializing in internal medicine. We calculated their workload (the annual number of discharged patients per physician) and retrieved data on junior residents’ monthly wages from the Resinavi Book which is popular among medical students in Japan to know the teaching hospital’s information and each hospital’s website. Furthermore, we explored the interim matching rate of each hospital as its popularity among medical students. Next, we classified cities in which all hospitals were located into eight groups based on their population size and compared the characteristics of these hospitals using a one-way analysis of variance.

Results

The average workload was 110.3, while the average workload in hospitals located in most populated cities (≥ 2,000,000) was 88.4 (p < 0.05). The average monthly wage was 351,199 Japanese yen, while that in most populated cities was 305,635.1 Japanese yen. The average popularity (matching rate) was 101.9%, and the rate in most populated areas was 142.7%, which was significantly higher than in other areas.

Conclusions

Hospitals in most populated areas had significantly lower workloads and wages; however, they were more popular among medical students than those in other areas. This study was the first to quantify the regional disparities in physicians’ working conditions in Japan, and such disparities need to be corrected.

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Title: Regional disparity of certified teaching hospitals on physicians’ workload and wages, and popularity among medical students in Japan
Authors: Yutaro Ikki
Masaaki Yamada
Michikazu Sekine
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine / Issue 1/2021
Print ISSN: 1342-078X
Electronic ISSN: 1347-4715
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-021-00997-3

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Regional disparity of certified teaching hospitals on physicians’ workload and wages, and popularity among medical students in Japan

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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