Job satisfaction among resident doctors in a tertiary healthcare facility in Northern Nigeria, a cross sectional

Abstract

Background: Over the past few years the number of doctors choosing to work abroad or in non-medical professions has been growing. Among those doctors who have remained in the workforce, there is a similar dissatisfaction, reflected in part by a general strike in 2010 by Nigerian doctors especially Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in favour of higher wages and better working conditions. Job demands and workload of hospital doctors are increasing.The aim of this paper is to assess job satisfaction among junior and senior resident doctors of different specialties in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and to compare the level of satisfaction between these two groups of professionals with the purpose of making recommendation for improvement to health human resource managers. Method: This was a cross- sectional study that involved 150 resident doctors of different cadre and specialization between 1st December, 2011 and 28th January, 2012. The questionnaire was used to assess the socio-demographic information of the respondents, job satisfaction and work related conditions. Result: Most of the doctors (41.3%) were aged 31-35 years. The mean age of junior residents was 32.6±3.7 years, while that of senior residents were 35±4 years. This differences was not statistically significant (p=0.094).Most resident doctors (64.2%) worked for 7-9hours daily. All doctors worked for average duration of 9.4±2.6 hours. Junior residents worked for mean duration of 9±2.3 hours while senior residents worked for 9.1±3.2 hours. This was not statistically significant p=0.075. Most of the resident doctors (56.7%) had been in the service of the hospital for 1-3 years. The mean duration of service was 3.5±2.1. Most of the doctors (78%) had 7-9 dependents. The average number of dependents for junior residents was 4±3, while for senior residents was 6±2 and this was statistically significant (p=0.03). The mean number of dependents was 5±3. Most doctors (60%) had their last promotion less 1 year prior to the study with mean of 0.9±0.9years.80.1% of doctors were satisfied with their job, 17.3% were undecided and 5.2% were dissatisfied. More senior residents (82.2%) felt satisfied with their jobs than junior residents (77.9%) and this was statistically significant, p=0.035.Job satisfaction among doctors was more among those who were aged 41-45(100%) but there was a very weak positive correlation (r=0.21) between age and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was more in those who have worked for at least 4 years with a weak positive coefficient of correlation (r=0.28).Length of service correlates more with job satisfaction than any other factors among doctors.Job satisfaction was highest among resident doctors in chemical pathology and radiology and lowest among resident doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology.Increase in manpower employment by management so as to reduce work hour per day may improve satisfaction among obstetrics and gynaecology residents. Conclusion: Job satisfaction among the doctors in this study was higher when compared with other studies within Nigeria and other developing countries. However, Job satisfaction may increase if physicians experienced more opportunities to advance their careers, team spirit, and better supervision. Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, Resident Doctors, Tertiary Healthcare, Northern Nigeria, Cross Sectional Survey Trop J Obstet Gynaecol , 30 (1), April 2013