Satisfaction of Physicians Working in Polish Hospitals—A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Physician satisfaction is a multidimensional concept associated with numerous factors. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the satisfaction of physicians practicing in hospitals in Poland and to identify factors associated with higher levels of satisfaction. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey of Polish hospitals was conducted between March and June 2018. All doctors working in the hospitals invited to the study were asked to fill in an online survey. Fifteen hospitals were included: seven general, five specialist, and three university ones. The total number of questionnaires analyzed was 1003. The questionnaire included 17 items to measure the level of satisfaction, classified into four dimensions: personal, professional, performance, and inherent. The statistical analyses included: assessment of association between levels of career satisfaction and basic demographic and work-related variables; and multivariable logistic regressions, conducted to determine which variables were associated with higher levels of career satisfaction. The mean level of career satisfaction, on a scale from 1 to 6, was 4.1 (SD = 0.69). Respondents reported high levels of inherent satisfaction: mean = 4.4 (SD = 0.66) and a low personal satisfaction: mean = 3.78 (SD = 0.98). 56.6% of respondents reported being satisfied, but only 8.2% reported a higher level of satisfaction (≥5). The satisfaction of Polish physicians is moderate. Gender, numbers of working hours/week, years of work experience, type of hospital, and stage of professional development were the identified factors associated with higher levels of career satisfaction.

Public and private health care services in the opinion of physicians in Poland

“…In the study by Tyssen et al, 90% of physicians in Canada and Norway, and 84% of U.S. doctors, defined their level of job satisfaction as "at least somewhat satisfied" [18]. A cross-sectional survey performed by Domagała et al among physicians working in Polish hospitals showed that the mean level of career satisfaction, evaluated using a 6-point scale, was 4.1±0.69 pts [19]. In this study, the authors observed a significantly higher professional satisfaction level (p < 0.001) among physicians working in the private area compared to the public one, which also varied between the surveyed doctors depending on the place and type of primary employment.…”

A Multidimensional Questionnaire to Measure Career Satisfaction of Physicians: Validation of the Polish Version of the 4CornerSAT

“…We are presenting a multidimensional questionnaire that has been adapted into Polish through a rigorous multistage process [19], and that has very good psychometric characteristics among physicians working in Polish hospitals. Moreover, the 4CornerSAT questionnaire is available in four different languages and countries [14,[18][19][20][21].…”

“…All physicians working in 15 Polish hospitals were invited to participate in a survey between March and June of 2018 [21]. Participants completed the questionnaire online, with the option to participate on paper if they experienced problems completing the online version.…”

“…A 16-item questionnaire, known as the 4cornerSAT, focuses on the longitudinal concept of satisfaction with the career rather than on the transversal emphasis of the satisfaction with the job or current work [14,15]. This questionnaire to measure the career satisfaction of physicians has been used among multiple specialties and in different countries [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In fact, the 4CornerSAT is helping in identifying that physicians appear to be consistently experiencing low levels of personal satisfaction across countries, a dimension that encompasses the lower order needs of physicians [14,18,20,21].…”

“…Given that the health care system in Poland is currently facing a health human resources crisis (i.e., shortage of physicians, emigration of the health providers, and increasing workloads) and the need of health care policies to face this problem [21], we considered it quite relevant and timely to provide a validated questionnaire in Polish to measure career satisfaction of physicians with a multidimensional approach. Consequently, we aimed to continue the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the adapted questionnaire to measure the career satisfaction of physicians in Poland.…”