A recent study found fob satisfaction among doctors is closely correlated to working conditions and physician burnout, an article on the American Medical Association website said.
The study, which relied on data from the Healthy Work Place (HWP) conducted for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), sought to assess how a doctor’s level of professional contentment related to work conditions and clinical and/or patient results, the article said.
The study found that physicians who indicated they were satisfied with their working conditions were, over time, less likely to experience burnout and/or leave their practices, the article said.
The physicians indicated job satisfaction was tied to "less chaos, more cohesion, better communication and closer values alignment at work,” the article said. One year later, follow-up data indicated a threefold improvement in “burnout scores” and a nearly nine-fold probability of reduced desire to leave their positions.
“The strength of these finding were more than we had ever known before,” Dr. Mark Linzer, lead author of the study and principal investigator of the HWP trial, said in the article. “We found that practices with less hectic environments, more cohesion, better communication between provider groups and closer values alignment between clinicians and leaders had physicians with more satisfaction.”
Dr. Christine Sinsky, AMA vice president VP of professional satisfaction who co-wrote the study, said the results present a compelling case for identifying and handling physician burnout, the article said. The authors of study, who detailed their findings in an issue of Health Affairs, concluded that intent to leave due to job dissatisfaction is closely correlated with actual exit from health care organizations, the article said.
