Time Pressures Leave Doctors Dissatisfied
From 1995 to 1998, researchers from the Washington-based Society of General Internal Medicine surveyed career satisfaction among practicing physicians. The project team developed a model of job satisfaction by refining an existing model, designed a survey instrument, and carried out a national survey.
The project was part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) national program Generalist Provider Research Initiative.
Key Findings
Time pressure—that is, the difficulty of spending as much time as judged necessary with patients—emerged as the number one source of physician dissatisfaction.
Female physicians were also found generally to experience higher levels of work-related stress than their male colleagues.
Physicians in HMO practices were found to experience lower job satisfaction than those in other practice settings.