Career satisfaction among medical school professors: a case study in Brazil

Nilce Maria Da Silva Campos Costa

doi:10.1590/s0100-55022009000300004

Nilce Maria Da Silva Campos Costa

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0100-55022009000300004

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the career satisfaction of medical school professors in relation to initial motivation, satisfaction factors, and the desire to remain in the profession. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative methodology was used, based on questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with faculty members at a federal institution of higher education in Brazil. RESULTS: For 42.86% of the sample, teaching began while they were medical students; 80% had chosen teaching either as a vocation or due to influence from families or professors; 20% chose teaching as a professional opportunity. The majority, 57.14%, stated they were happy with teaching, and 51.42% did not plan to leave the career. Factors involved in satisfaction with teaching were: the possibility of remaining up-to-date in the medical profession, the feeling of doing their duty, their contribution to training future doctors, and contact with young people and the university setting. Factors leading to dissatisfaction were pedagogical (33.33%), economic (30.95%), institutional (14.28%), and relational (14.28%). CONCLUSIONS: Subjects expressed a positive attitude towards teaching, and because of their great personal satisfaction with the career, they did not plan to leave it. These findings should shed light on factors that interfere with career satisfaction and help increase those that promote satisfaction, thus improving the productivity and well-being of medical professors.

Highlights

Studies on the teaching career scarcely existed prior to the 1960s
The majority (80%) of the 35 professors stated that they had chosen the teaching career for active reasons, vocation or calling (60%) and the influence of family and their own teachers (20%). These findings are broadly similar to those obtained by Huberman[1] and Loureiro[20] in studies of secondary school teachers, where active reasons for joining the teaching career predominated
The findings related to the categories “initial motivation”, “attitude toward the profession”, and “desire to remain in or leave the profession” proved to be quite consistent

Summary

Introduction

Studies on the teaching career scarcely existed prior to the 1960s. They have only developed significantly since 1970, allowing a better understanding of teachers’ professional lives[1].It would be helpful if teachers could go through definite phases in their careers. Studies on the teaching career scarcely existed prior to the 1960s. They have only developed significantly since 1970, allowing a better understanding of teachers’ professional lives[1]. It would be helpful if teachers could go through definite phases in their careers. Since teachers construct their professional activity, they should be able to analyze and plan the sequence of career steps and even determine the nature and sequence of such steps[1]. According to Garcia[2], these career phases include: “pre-training”, consisting of prior teaching experiences that can affect the teacher unconsciously; initial training or formal preparation in a specific institution; the initial teaching career or the early years of professional activity; and permanent training, with activities planned by both the institution and the teachers themselves to allow for professional development.

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