TY - JOUR
T1 - Measuring physician job satisfaction in a changing workplace and a challenging environment
AU - Konrad, Thomas R.
AU - Williams, Eric S.
AU - Linzer, Mark
AU - McMurray, Julia
AU - Pathman, Donald E.
AU - Gerrity, Martha
AU - Schwartz, Mark D.
AU - Scheckler, William E.
AU - Van Kirk, Judith
AU - Rhodes, Elnora
AU - Douglas, Jeff
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - BACKGROUND. Changes in the demographic, specialty, and employment sector composition of medicine have altered physicians' jobs, limiting autonomy and reducing morale. Because physician job satisfaction has been linked to clinical variables, better measurement might help to ameliorate conditions linked to medical disaffection, possibly improving health care. OBJECTIVE. To document conceptual development, item construction, and use of content experts in designing multidimensional measures of physician job satisfaction and global satisfaction scales for assessing physicians' job perceptions across settings and specialties. DESIGN. Using previous research, physician focus groups, secondary analysis of survey data, interviews with physician informants, and a multispecialty physician expert panel, distinct job facets and statements representing those facets were developed. RESULTS. Facets from previously validated instruments included autonomy, relationships with colleagues, relationships with patients, relationships with staff, pay, resources, and status. New facets included intrinsic satisfaction, free time away from work, administrative support, and community involvement. Physician status items were reconfigured into rela-tionships with peers, patients, staff, and community, yielding 10 hypothetical facets. Global scales and items were developed representing satisfaction with job, career, and specialty. CONCLUSIONS. A comprehensive approach to assessing physician job satisfaction yielded 10 facets, some of which had not been previously identified, and generated a matching pool of items for subsequent use in field tests.
AB - BACKGROUND. Changes in the demographic, specialty, and employment sector composition of medicine have altered physicians' jobs, limiting autonomy and reducing morale. Because physician job satisfaction has been linked to clinical variables, better measurement might help to ameliorate conditions linked to medical disaffection, possibly improving health care. OBJECTIVE. To document conceptual development, item construction, and use of content experts in designing multidimensional measures of physician job satisfaction and global satisfaction scales for assessing physicians' job perceptions across settings and specialties. DESIGN. Using previous research, physician focus groups, secondary analysis of survey data, interviews with physician informants, and a multispecialty physician expert panel, distinct job facets and statements representing those facets were developed. RESULTS. Facets from previously validated instruments included autonomy, relationships with colleagues, relationships with patients, relationships with staff, pay, resources, and status. New facets included intrinsic satisfaction, free time away from work, administrative support, and community involvement. Physician status items were reconfigured into rela-tionships with peers, patients, staff, and community, yielding 10 hypothetical facets. Global scales and items were developed representing satisfaction with job, career, and specialty. CONCLUSIONS. A comprehensive approach to assessing physician job satisfaction yielded 10 facets, some of which had not been previously identified, and generated a matching pool of items for subsequent use in field tests.
KW - Attitude scale
KW - Autonomy
KW - Career satisfaction
KW - Physician job satifaction
KW - Stress
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U2 - 10.1097/00005650-199911000-00010
DO - 10.1097/00005650-199911000-00010
M3 - Article
C2 - 10549620
AN - SCOPUS:0033229519
SN - 0025-7079
VL - 37
SP - 1174
EP - 1182
JO - Medical care
JF - Medical care
IS - 11
ER -