The Impact of Professional Adjustment on the Psychological Distress of Immigrant Physicians

The impact of professional adjustment on the psychological well-being of recent immigrant physicians from the former USSR to Israel was examined. Sources, levels and symptoms of distress were measured by the Demographic Psychosocial Inventory, PERI Demoralization Scale and Brief Symptom Inventory. Data were collected from physicians during two stages in the professional adjustment: the retraining stage (N=379) and the specialization stage (N=102). The groups differed significantly in the frequency of reported stressors. Distress level was lower among specializing physicians than in the physician retraining phase. From the most prominent symptoms characterizing distress in the retraining physicians only depression and anxiety persist in specializing physicians. The ‘group at risk’ for stress-related psychopathology was significantly smaller in specializing than that in retraining.