Don't follow in my footsteps, doctors tell offspring

More than 60 percent of doctors in China don't want their children to follow in their footsteps due to excessive workloads and low salaries, according to the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

A white paper on the status of the profession is based on the results of surveys conducted in 2009, 2011 and last year which questioned 9,524 doctors in more than 10 provincial regions of China.

Only 15.69 percent of 2,638 doctors surveyed last year hope their children work in hospitals and clinics in the future and 14.7 percent said they do not care whether or not their children become doctors.

The survey carried out in 2009 showed that 62.49 percent don't want their children to follow their career and the figure for the 2011 study was 78.01, according to the paper, released on Wednesday.

"The result shows many physicians are not satisfied with their career environment, which has produced a negative impact on their sense of professional achievement," the paper said. "We hope society can take measures to improve physicians' sense of career security and honor to secure enough talents for a healthy nation."

Three of four doctors questioned last year said they have an excessive workload and nearly a third said they work more than 60 hours every week. About 40 percent said they cannot take annual leave due to the workload.

Although physicians in general have an income slightly higher than the average income, most surveyed last year said their income fails to match their devotion. Two thirds have a monthly income of less than 5,000 yuan ($806) and about 6 percent have an income of more than 10,000 yuan, the survey showed.

More than 70 percent of doctors said they have encountered verbal or physical violence from patients and medical disputes between doctors and patients are also a major cause of pressure for doctors, the paper said.

"We hope the release of the white paper can help society to have a better understanding of the environment of physicians and help contribute to an improved relation between doctors and patients," Zhang Yanling, president of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said.

Society should create a better environment for doctors to practice medicine, including increasing their income and building better relations between doctors and patients, so the career can attract top talent, he said.

To better promote communications between doctors and the general public the association has announced the establishment of a 45-member committee comprising doctors, lawyers and communication experts.