Objectives : Many reports have investigated the work environment of physicians and reported the association between work environment, burnout, and the quality of medical care. We aimed to determine the key to improving the work environment by analyzing the results of a Japanese survey for young cardiovascular surgeons. Methods : A survey on work environment was performed among the young members of The Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery (≤40 years of age) to measure their job satisfaction for 9 items : operation, perioperative work, number of hours working or sleeping, board affairs (application or renewal of board certification), motivation, salary, days off, quality of life, and mental status. Univariate and multivariate analyses using 16 factors for the work environment (age, number of years in practice, gender, subspecialty, board certification in surgery, board certification in cardiovascular surgery, primary practice hospital, workdays and nights on duty in a primary practice setting, workdays and nights on duty outside primary practice, total annual income, overtime work hours, overtime entitlement, gap in overtime work and entitlement, and presence of an intensive care unit [ICU] managed by ICU physicians) were performed to identify the risk factors for dissatisfaction. Results : The survey was completed by 327 of 1,304 (25.1% response rate) young members of the Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. The respondents had an average of 8.5±3.5 years in practice, and 292 (89.3%) respondents were male. Only 14.2% of the responding young surgeons reported no dissatisfaction in any items. In all items, the young surgeons were most satisfied with operation (34.6% of all responders). Age, years in practice, female gender, board certification in surgery, working at a university hospital, workdays in a primary practice setting, and workdays outside a primary practice setting were identified as significant factors for dissatisfaction, while a subspecialty in vascular surgery, total annual income, board certification in cardiovascular surgery, and the presence of an ICU managed by ICU physicians were identified as significant factors against dissatisfaction in the work environment. Conclusions : Our analyses of the survey results identified a number of risk factors for dissatisfaction in the work environment among young cardiovascular surgeons. Regarding the quality of medical care, respondents hoped for a reduced burden on surgeons and the establishment of a work-shift system in the cardiovascular department and an interdisciplinary team including an ICU physician. Multidimensional analyses including job satisfaction, rewards as training, and a quantitative evaluation of the quality of medical care will be necessary to clarify the corresponding relationship between consumers and providers of cardiovascular surgery in the work environment.

Even within a hospital, the prognosis after a cardiac arrest is extremely poor if intervention starts only after the event; thus, early recognition and intervention is crucial to reduce inhospital cardiac arrests. This paper aims to assess the results of in-clinic surveys conducted for the implementation of the Rapid Response System (RRS) at our hospital and changes in awareness after awareness initiatives. Excluding the neonatal intensive care unit, all wards were targeted for implementation, with the creation of criteria for requesting the RRS and hospital-wide awareness initiatives. Four items were defined for the request criteria—namely, (1) respiration, (2) circulation, (3) state of consciousness, and (4) others (any concerns)—with a request being warranted if any one of these criteria was met. A pre-awareness survey revealed that respiratory rates were recorded only 6.9% of the time on average, indicating inadequate observation of respiratory rates across all wards. In response to this issue, we announced that respiratory status should be observed at least once a day, which resulted in the recording rate improving to 68.2% after 2 months. Survey results before and after the awareness initiatives among doctors and nurses showed a significant increase in RRS awareness. The percentage of nurses who answered “well aware” or “somewhat aware” increased from 34.8% to 77.6%, and from 63.4% to 88.0% among doctors. However, while the introduction of the RRS was relatively well-received by nurses struggling with on-site responses, some doctors questioned the necessity of the RRS. Upon implementation, it is important to make it known that it is a hospital-wide effort. Simplifying and thoroughly utilizing the request criteria can lead to early recognition of abnormalities. Since it is not easy to gain doctors’ understanding, it is necessary to listen to the needs and requests of each department and patiently continue awareness activities before implementation