Flexible Working Report

In early 2018, the European Junior Doctors’ Association (EJD) undertook a survey of differences in Postgraduate Training across Europe. At that time, 73% of countries surveyed (16/22) reported that junior doctors were allowed to undertake their residency working less than fulltime or ‘flexibly'. Less than full time working was reported to not be possible in Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia, Italy and Estonia. 

It has been reported that new generations of physicians increasingly value flexibility in their scheduling and working arrangements. However, other research has also shown that flexible working within healthcare can prove more challenging than in other employment fields due to the nature of shift-work and necessity to be constantly responsive to patient needs3. 

To better understand what frameworks are in place for flexible working amongst doctors in different European countries, the European Junior Doctors’ Association (EJD) carried out a survey on this topic from August to September 2018. Interim results were presented to EJD delegations in October 2018 and the data collected was verified with EJD delegations prior to this final report being published. This report presents some of the key findings from the survey.