Ron Gorsche, MD, Maeve O'Beirne, MD and Rob Wedel, MD
The Alberta family physician 'On-Call Study' is the first to investigate the affects of being on-call upon the on-call doctor's family including children. Phase I saw the development of themes emanating from province wide focus groups (stage play presented at WONCA 2000). Phase II, a questionnaire, was developed, approved by scientific and ethical review and mailed to all 2,500 Alberta family physicians with separate surveys for the spouse and children. Of the 1,628 total surveys returned 390 were from children (174 rural). The primary affect identified was the feeling of abandonment and loss. Fifty-seven per cent of the children indicated that their parent had missed an important event in the previous six months and an equal number complained about the amount of time-spent on-call. Fifty-six children used the word "missed". Other affects sited include relationships (includes peers, school and other parent), planning disruption, sleep disturbance, and fear for health of parent. The physician's mood has a significant negative impact on the parent/child relationship. There was evidence of transitional stress throughout the on-call period that included the days prior to and following not unlike that experienced on weekends by families of divorce. Those children that indicated a prevailing sense of sadness or loneliness felt so regardless of the frequency of on-call. We conclude that 'on-call' which can influence the child for a minimum of a ¼ of their lives is not a minor inconvenience and exposes both physician and child to a lifetime of missed opportunities.