Job dissatisfaction among public hospital physicians is a universal problem: evidence from Turkey

Several recent reports show that many physicians feel discontented and unhappy with their work situation. This could be due in part to factors such as declining social status, loss of influence on health care organizations, and reduced income. The professional life of physicians is characterized by long working days and pressure for efficiency. This threatens the quality of patient care. In this study we investigated levels of job stress as well as job and life satisfaction among a sample of 168 physicians (80 women and 88 men) who work in a large government facility in Ankara, Turkey. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to physicians to determine factors contributing to stress and job satisfaction. The most important results of the study show that the participants were unhappy with their salary, did not have enough time to follow developments in medicine, and had a limited social life due to heavy workloads. The results of the study show that physicians who work in public facilities have low motivation due to the nature of their organizations. Public hospital working conditions and staff salaries must be improved to promote health professionals and healthy society.