Professional and personal characteristics of Israeli public hospital physicians

The profile of the Israeli public hospital physician was evaluated in a survey of 703 physicians. Background variables (age, sex, marital status), working habits (time devoted to various activities, management position) professional characteristics (specialty, seniority, tenure, etc.) and hospital characteristics (size, ownership) were recorded. The profile that emerged was that of physicians in their early 40's, the majority men, 2/3 senior physicians, and half with tenure. They work 50 to 60 hours a week, mostly in clinical work, with less than 10% of their time in research. Physician mobility between hospitals is low: in any 5-year period very few positions become available, and then usually only when physicians retire. For these openings there is severe competition by a large number of residents. It is clear that research in hospitals should be encouraged in order to maintain hospital standards.