Physician Employees Less Satisfied

Being an employed physician may be more common today, but physicians who are co-owners or partners of a practice are more satisfied with their careers, according to a survey.

Physicians Practice’s 2013 Great American Physician Survey of more than 1,000 physicians revealed that physicians who are partners/co-owners of a practice were 10 percentage points more likely to strongly agree that they like being physicians compared to hospital- or practice-employed physicians.

Respondents who were employed in hospitals and other institutions were more likely to agree with the statement that they often wished they could change workplaces. Half of these physicians said so, compared to 35% of physicians employed by practices and just 31% of partners/co-owners.

The reasons for leaving workplaces weren’t the same, though, depending on practice setting. Partners/co-owners would like more time for their personal lives, while physician employees cited the unhealthy culture of their current workplace.

Hospital-employed physicians reported working more hours per week than physicians in practices. For all three groups more than 80% each reported working more than 40 hours a week. However, 43% of partners/co-owners, and 34% of employees who wanted to work fewer hours per week said they weren’t willing to sacrifice anything in order to work less.

The physicians in this survey were more content with their current career paths, though. About 60% of all respondents said that if given the chance to go back, they would do everything the same way. Other surveys have shown that physicians are so discontent that they wouldn’t recommend the medical profession to the next generation.