Context After several warning signals coming from senior physicians working in a Department of pediatrics at a large university hospital, the Department of occupational health decided to assess objectively the psychosocial risks to which this personnel was exposed.

Methods A research team from the scientific unit of the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec has developed an identification grid with markers that help understanding and limiting physical and psychological risks at work. This grid includes characteristics of the workplace environment and various aspects of management practices. It is based on theoretical models such as ‘Demand-Latitude-Support’ (Karasek & Theorell, 1990), ‘effort-reward imbalance’ (Siegrist, 1996), ‘organizational justice’ (Adams, 2000), and ‘prevention’ (Kristensen, 1999). The assessment involved an interview guide with a scoring system of data collected from credible persons familiar with the working environment.

After adequate training in the use of the interview guide, an occupational physician and an occupational psychologist interviewed jointly each of 34 pediatricians and 3 managers and scored the 12 items of the guide according to specific recommendations. The data collected from the interviews were submitted to a thematic analysis.

Results The analysis showed that the working environment of the Department was not favorable to the return to work or work-life balance. Regarding management, the warning signals pointed to heavy workloads, lack of recognition, and communication problems. There were some protecting factors such as support from colleagues, some decision latitude (but limited possibilities of knowledge development) and, unevenly between wards, support from the hierarchy. The most negative indicators were reported by junior doctors and, as expected, by temporary personnel.

Discussion According to these results, group involving the assessment team, pediatricians, and ward managers will be formed to suggest improvements in the fields of human-resource management, communication, recognition, workloads, and occupational health.