Pressure from the work environment
The Ministry of Health is drafting a decision of the Prime Minister stipulating a number of special allowances for civil servants, public employees, and workers in public health facilities and an anti-epidemic allowance. The reason is that the current allowance levels for medical staff are too low, no longer suitable for the current economic and living situation.
Currently, medical staff are tending to quit their jobs and there is a strong wave of medical staff shifting from public medical facilities to private medical facilities, especially after more than 2 years of preventing and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
After COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said that reports from provinces, cities and public service units under the Ministry of Health on the number of medical staff quitting or leaving their jobs from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 nationwide showed that 9,680 medical staff applied to quit or leave their jobs (including 3,094 doctors, 2,874 nurses, 551 medical technicians, 276 midwives, 593 pharmacists, and 2,280 other civil servants).
Regarding the reasons why medical staff quit their jobs or transfer to public health facilities, according to the Ministry of Health, there are 4 reasons: high work pressure, danger, high risk of disease, even life-threatening, which has deeply affected the psychology and motivation of health workers; low income; pressure due to lack of conditions and facilities to perform professional tasks; and pressure from society, family and relatives.
Dr. Nguyen Dinh Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel (Ministry of Health) - said that the medical profession is a very special and unique profession, because the study time is longer, the working hours are not as normal, and the pressure is very high. Occupational pressure is an aspect that cannot be ignored when talking about the medical profession. Not only facing the pressure of having to make correct judgments in a short time, doctors also have to face occupational risks such as infection from patients or physical and mental abuse from family members and society.
A study on knowledge, attitudes and mental health status in Ho Chi Minh City conducted by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health and the EpiC Project has just been published, showing that up to 34% of health workers are at risk of depression; 31.9% are at risk of anxiety, and 25.7% have stress problems.
Three words to describe the work of a healthcare worker are pressure, stress and chaos. Healthcare workers often have to work long shifts, deal with emergencies and make decisions that require absolute precision. This not only affects their physical health, but also creates an invisible pressure that deeply affects their mental health.
Caregivers need care too
Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health - said: Medical staff always receive a lot of expectations from patients and their families. However, in reality, they are only trained to take care of patients' health, so they are not always successful. When treatment fails, patients and their relatives are disappointed, and medical staff are even more disappointed. However, due to the nature of their profession, they need to hide their emotions and avoid being influenced. Hiding emotions is one of the factors that lead to heavy pressure.
Many studies show that doctors and nurses are at a much higher risk of stress, depression, anxiety, and burnout than other professions. Occupational stress damages the nervous system, increases the rate of cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal diseases, stomach ulcers, myocardial infarction, reduces the quality of health care for patients, and increases the rate of early retirement...
According to Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau: “A health system is effective and healthy when health workers are healthy. A health worker is healthy when he or she is physically and mentally healthy. In 2023-2024, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control and the EpiC Project of FHI 360 have coordinated to implement a program to improve mental health for health workers in the city.
The campaign aims to increase awareness and education about mental health, and encourage healthcare workers to access support services when needed."
