Predictors of professional and personal satisfaction with a career in psychiatry

Many factors, including personal experience and personality traits, contribute to the emotional difficulties that psychiatrists experience in their professional work. The nature of the work itself also plays a significant role.

To determine those personal and professional characteristics that predict satisfaction with the practice of psychiatry.

We mailed a questionnaire that included items pertaining to aspects of personal and professional life to the entire population of psychiatrists in Ontario (N = 1574).

Of the 1574, 52% (n = 802) responded. We conducted a series of regression analyses to determine factors related to career satisfaction or regret. A belief in the intrinsic value of psychiatry, a low perceived degree of emotional burden from patients, financial success, and satisfaction with psychotherapeutic work emerged consistently as significant predictors. A subsequent discriminant function analysis indicated that all 4 of these variables accurately predicted those psychiatrists with extreme satisfaction or dissatisfaction with work.

These results reveal several variables associated with career satisfaction in the practice of psychiatry that might be useful to discuss with residents who are beginning their careers.