Physician career satisfaction across thirty medical specialties: a South African national survey study
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Date
2019-11
Authors
O’Kennedy, Jeremy David
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Background. Specialty satisfaction likely influences quality of work, physician burnout rates and occupation-specific depression and suicide risk. Satisfaction with relative compensation, work-life balance and perception of met expectations within specialty, all likely influences career satisfaction within specialty as well as overall satisfaction with specialty choice. Specialty-specific physician career satisfaction data are collected and published annually in the United States of America (U.S.) and parts of Europe. These data and survey results are freely available to medical professionals, medical students, companies and the public. They are also widely publicised in journals, magazines and interest articles. No such relatable comparative data exists for practising South African medical specialists. Objective. To determine and compare the specialty-specific career satisfaction amongst practising South African medical specialists across 30 distinct medical specialties, via an electronic (email) questionnaire-based, respondent survey in 2018. Methods. This was an electronic, email-administered, questionnaire-based, respondent survey study conducted via SurveyMonkey. Response data representing practising South African medical specialists across 30 distinct medical specialties (incl. general practice) were obtained and analysed for the period 1 May to 31 July 2018. A specialty-specific global career satisfaction score (GSS) was formulated, calculated and compared with the use of five separate parameters, measuring scale-weighted responses within each individual questionnaire. Results. A total of 1610 practicing medical specialists were invited via email survey invitation. A total of 420 complete and qualifying response data sets were included). The response rate was 26%. A total of 17 specialties met the minimum respondent number of 10 respondents. Respondents represented specialists practicing in all nine Provinces. 60.95% of respondents indicated solo private, 15.71% combined (State/academic and private), 15.24% partnership private and 5.24% State/academic only, as their respective practice settings. 125 (29.76%) respondents were female. The most satisfied practising specialists according to the survey data are Dermatologists (75%), Ophthalmologists (74%), Oncologists (72%) and Radiologists (72%). The most dissatisfied specialists are General Internists (52%), Obstetrician and Gynaecologists (52%), General Practitioners (52%) and Nephrologists (54%). The mean GSS response is 12.34 and the median is 13 (standard deviation =4.01) Conclusion. This survey study demonstrated a significant inter-speciality variability in career satisfaction parameters amongst practising South African specialists. Specialty-specific satisfaction score trends were comparable to similar survey studies done in the U.S. and parts of Europe. The international trend towards job dissatisfaction within certain medical specialties, is concerning and warrants further investigation, possible interventional analysis and the development of turn-around strategies.
Description
Dissertation (M.Med.(Dermatology))--University of the Free State, 2019
Keywords
South African physician career satisfaction, Medical specialty satisfaction, Physician burnout, Physician depression, Physician work-life balance, Medical specialist suicide rates, Physician career satisfaction parameters, Dermatologist career satisfaction, South African general practitioner satisfaction, Medical specialist compensation satisfaction