In search of work/life balance: trainee perspectives on part-time obstetrics and gynaecology specialist training

BACKGROUND: Part-time training (PTT) is accessed by approximately 10% of Australian obstetrics and gynaecology trainees, a small but increasing minority which reflects the growing demand for improved work/life balance amongst the Australian medical workforce. This survey reports the attitudes and experiences of both full-time and part-time trainees to PTT. METHODS: An email-based anonymous survey was sent to all Australian obstetrics and gynaecology trainees in April 2009, collecting demographic and training status data, data on personal experiences of PTT and/or trainees, and attitudes towards PTT. RESULTS: 105 responses were received (20% response rate). These indicated strong support (90%) from both full-time (FT) and part-time (PT) trainees for the availability of PTT. PT trainees were significantly more likely than FT trainees to be female with children. Improved morale was seen as a particular advantage of PTT; decreased continuity of care as a disadvantage. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by poor response rate, both PT and FT Australian obstetric trainees were supportive of part-time training. Both groups recognised important advantages and disadvantages of this mode of training. Currently, part-time training is accessed primarily by female trainees with family responsibilities, with many more trainees considering part-time training than the number that access it

Gaussian Optical Ising Machines

It has recently been shown that optical parametric oscillator (OPO) Ising machines, consisting of coupled optical pulses circulating in a cavity with parametric gain, can be used to probabilistically find low-energy states of Ising spin systems. In this work, we study optical Ising machines that operate under simplified Gaussian dynamics. We show that these dynamics are sufficient for reaching probabilities of success comparable to previous work. Based on this result, we propose modified optical Ising machines with simpler designs that do not use parametric gain yet achieve similar performance, thus suggesting a route to building much larger systems.Comment: 6 page