Verliefde dokters

Objective

To investigate how often doctors fall in love or are in a relationship with a colleague.

Design

Descriptive questionnaire.

Method

Doctors and medical students completed an online questionnaire during the summer of 2012. The questions concerned baseline characteristics as well as their feelings of happiness. In addition, we asked them whether they were in love or had ever been with a colleague and whether this had resulted in a steady relationship.

Results

A total of 401 individuals participated, of which 41% were male and 59% female. Their mean age was 40 years. Altogether, 40% of the participants indicated to be or have been in love with a colleague. This occurred more often in women than men. In 82% the relationship was of an equivalent nature; it was hierarchical in the remainder. In only 23% of cases, the relationship was steady; this was independent of age. Dermatologists appeared to be the least apt to fall in love with a colleague, while obstetricians had the highest rate.

Conclusion

Although love between colleagues is a frequently occurring phenomenon, this is associated with a steady relationship in only about 25% of cases. There is wide variation among specialists in their proneness to intercollegial love.

Conflict of interest: the author is the chief editor of the Dutch Journal of Medicine and is married to a colleague. Financial support: none declared.