Abstract
BackgroundIn recent years, the healthcare system in the western world has undergone a structural development caused by changes in demography and pattern of disease. In order to maintain the healthcare system cost-effective, new tasks are placed in general practice urging the general practitioners to rethink the working structure without compromising the quality of care. However, there is a substantial variation in the degree to which general practitioners delegate tasks to their staff, and it is not known how these various degrees of task delegation influence the job satisfaction of general practitioners and their staff.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study based on two electronic questionnaires, one for general practitioners and one for their staff. Both questionnaires were divided into two parts, a part exploring the degree of task delegation regarding management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in general practice and a part concerning the general job satisfaction and motivation to work.ResultsWe found a significant association between perceived “maximal degree” of task delegation in management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the staff’s overall job satisfaction. The odds ratio of the staff’s satisfaction with the working environment displayed a tendency that there is also an association with “maximal degree” of task delegation. In the analysis of the general practitioners, the odds ratios of the results indicate that there is a tendency that “maximal degree” of task delegation is associated with overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with the challenges in work, and satisfaction with the working environment.ConclusionsWe conclude that a high degree of task delegation is significantly associated with overall job satisfaction of the staff, and that there is a tendency that a high degree of task delegation is associated with the general practitioners’ and the staff’s satisfaction with the working environment as well as with general practitioners’ overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with challenges in work. To qualify future delegation processes within general practice, further research could explore the reasons for our findings.
Highlights
In recent years, the healthcare system in the western world has undergone a structural development caused by changes in demography and pattern of disease
The questionnaires were similar except for few questions especially designed for General practitioner (GP) or for staff. Both questionnaires were divided into two parts, a part exploring the degree of task delegation regarding management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in general practice and a part concerning the general job satisfaction and motivation to work
The odds ratios of the results indicate that there is a tendency that “maximal degree” of task delegation is associated with overall job satisfaction, Table 3 Distribution of job satisfaction of GPs and their staff
Summary
The healthcare system in the western world has undergone a structural development caused by changes in demography and pattern of disease. In order to maintain the healthcare system costeffective, new tasks are placed in general practice urging the general practitioners to rethink the working structure without compromising the quality of care. In order to maintain the healthcare system costeffective, new tasks are placed in general practice, such as various clinical functions formerly undertaken in outpatient clinics [2, 3]. General practitioners (GPs) are urged to rethink the working structure without compromising the quality of care. It is a common assumption that delegating tasks from GPs to their staff is an appropriate way to deal with the continuously increasing workload in general practice [2, 4]. Task delegation is defined as an intentional transfer of clinical tasks from the GP to another healthcare professional, or another employee with clinical training, within the staff
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