Research work in general hospitals in Slovenia

Abstract

Background: Research work is a fundamental element of medicine because it allows the transfer of scientific achievements into daily clinical practice. The purpose of the article is to present the organization of research work in Slovenian general hospitals. We were particularly interested whether the structure of employed doctors (the proportion of doctors with scientific and teaching titles) of general hospitals differ from the two university medical centers.
Methods: The data were obtained using the non-experimental quantitative method of data collection. The introductory part was designed on the basis of facts, and the research work was carried out using a structured questionnaire sent to ten general hospitals in the second half of September 2017.
Results: At the end of October 2017, Slovenian general hospitals employed 866 specialists and 568 other physicians; 8.6 % of physicians held a Doctor of Philosophy or a Master of Science degree; 1.1 % were university teachers. A comparison of the structure of employed physicians according to their professional, scientific and academic titles shows statistically significant differences between the two university hospitals on the one hand and the general hospitals on the other: χ2 = 336.62, p < 0.0001.
Conclusion: Most of the general hospitals have an organized research department in their structure. In comparison with the university hospitals, the share of physicians with scientific and academic titles in Slovenian general hospitals is significantly lower. With the development of information technology, better technical equipment of general hospitals and, in particular, the motivation of young doctors for research work, we can reasonably expect that the gap between general and university hospitals will gradually decrease.