Objectives: Physician satisfaction with their job can lead to a better quality of care, fewer chances of making errors, and better patient outcomes. The purpose of the study was to examine physician satisfaction; and to assess job satisfaction across several factors, such as quality of care, ease of practice, relationship with leadership, and inter-professional collaboration. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected between July 2019 and January 2020. Participants provided demographic information and completed surveys related to physician satisfaction (13-item Likert type items on a scale from 1 to 5), and inter-professional collaboration (15-item, 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 for “strongly disagree” to 4 for “strongly agree”). Multiple linear regressions were used to determine the relationship between overall job satisfaction and demographic features and inter-professional collaboration. Results: Out of 396 physicians who were contacted, 354 responded (response rate = 89.4%). The median age was 40 years, and there were 208 male and 124 female physicians. The vast majority (238/354 = 62%) were expatriates. Seventy percent had a post-graduate degree. The vast majority (308 = 87%) worked in government hospitals. Results showed that 15 (5%) of the physicians were not satisfied with their job (<3.00), 179 (40%) expressed a moderate level of satisfaction (3.00 – 3.75), and 129 (55%) were highly satisfied (>3.76). There was no difference in mean job satisfaction score among different groups of study participants, except for gender, and the working grade (p < 0.05). The overall job satisfaction rates were higher for the quality of care (M = 3.93, SD = 0.61), and for ease of practice (M = 3.89, SD = 0.55) and lower for the relationship with leadership (M = 3.67, SD = 0.86). Having a clinical postgraduate degree together with a PhD, a senior level of responsibility and good inter-professional relationship were associated with higher job satisfaction rates (p = 0.003 and 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: Overall, the job satisfaction rate was high. There was no difference among different groups of study participants, except for the working grade. Having a clinical postgraduate degree, a senior level of responsibility, and good inter-professional relationship were associated with higher job satisfaction rates. The overall job satisfaction rates were higher for the quality of care, and for ease of practice, and lower for relationship with the leadership. Relationship with the leadership is a modifiable factor and efforts at enhancing the physician-leadership relationship may lead to even higher satisfaction rates.
Keywords: Interprofessional relations; Job Satisfaction; Leadership; Oman; Physician; Quality of health car
