Job satisfaction of health professionals

Health profession has been traditionally considered as one of those professions at risk for psychological distress. While remarkable interest has been devoted to the burn-out syndrome, only recently have scholars and policy makers begun to pay attention to the factors promoting health professionals' satisfaction and gratification. Aim of the present study was to investigate general and domain-specific job satisfaction among 906 physicians and nurses working in various Italian hospitals. The influence of four variables on job satisfaction was investigated: type of profession (physicians vs. nurses), job seniority, the desire to change job, and the desire to change work place. Participants' suggestions to improve their ward and to increase their personal satisfaction were collected through open-ended questions. Results showed that physicians were more satisfied with their job than nurses, and that senior professionals were more satisfied than junior professionals. General satisfaction for the ward was mostly associated with leadership satisfaction and satisfaction with relationships with colleagues and superiors; negative and modest correlations were found between job satisfaction and burn-out. A material improvement of the ward, more personnel and an improvement in the relationships among colleagues were reported more frequently as the most important factors in order to improve the ward functioning. Higher salary and more adequate shifts and work load were reported more frequently as the most important factors in order to increase personal job satisfaction.