title: Quality of work life of family physicians in Wisconsin's health care organizations: a WReN study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Most family physicians in Wisconsin are employed by large health care organizations. Because of its impact on physician recruitment, retention, commitment to the organization, and patient care, the quality of physician work life is an important problem.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was designed based on a literature review and augmented by focus group data. It was sent to all 1482 members of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians in 2000.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall response rate was 47%. Three hundred ninety-seven of the respondents were employed by 18 different health care organizations having 10 or more respondents. There were significant differences among Wisconsin's health care organizations in terms of physicians' satisfaction with their organization. There was a strong significant negative correlation between satisfaction with one's organization and turnover intention and a strong positive correlation between satisfaction with one's organization and ability to achieve one's professional goals. There were also significant, though less strong, correlations between satisfaction with one's organization and satisfaction with being a physician and perceived quality of care delivered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some of Wisconsin's health care organizations are doing better than others at working with their family physicians to maximize these physicians' satisfaction with the organization, reduce the likelihood of turnover, and enable them to reach their professional goals.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine, Madison 53715, USA. john.beasley@fammed.wisc.edu
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Beasley
authors.forename: Ben-Tzion
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Karsh
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sainfort
authors.forename: Mary Ellen
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hagenauer
authors.forename: Lucille
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marchand
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017144:Focus Groups; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014922:Wisconsin