Physicians' view of their work environment and organisation.
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to assess physicians' perception of their work, organisation and professional development.


METHODS
All major disciplines at a major regional hospital were studied. Participants responded to a structured questionnaire concerning broad aspects of physicians' work. The response rate was approximately 78%, with 356 respondents.


RESULTS
The results show that even though physicians are overall very satisfied with their work, they list high workload, lack of influence on daily work and work processes as dissatisfactory. Skills utilisation and development are some major areas for improvement. Physicians that were aware of the overall mission statement for their hospital were more satisfied with and informed about departmental goals. Perceived organisational efficiency and leadership qualities were important determinants of perceived workload and work climate.


CONCLUSIONS
Stress among physicians is a growing occupational health concern, impacting negatively on patient care. In this article important individual and organisational factors related to physician stress are identified and suggestions to assess stress and intervene are provided.
Arnetz
B B
BB
Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden. Bengt.Arnetz@medhs.ki.se
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D013548:Sweden; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology