Introduction: Faculty workload, and its relation to job satisfaction, has not been well studied in Emergency Medicine (EM). Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among EM physician faculty at 49 residency programs across the United States. We collected information on clinical and non-clinical (education, administration, and research) workload, demographics, and EM department characteristics, as well as job satisfaction measured using the Global Job Satisfaction (GJS) scale. Comparisons were made using Wilcox signed rank tests. Multivariable associations with job satisfaction were assessed in a regression model.
Results: Of 1,791 surveys sent, 265 were completed. The quantity of contracted clinical and non-clinical hours was lower than the actual clinical (difference (95% confidence interval (CI)): 2.7 (1.5-4.1)) and non-clinical hours (6.0 (3.8-8.8)) worked. Respondents preferred a distribution of 50% clinical work. However, the actual percentage was 62% (difference (95% CI): 14.4% (10.8%-17.6%)). Identifying as core faculty and required logging of non-clinical hours were associated with improved job satisfaction while increased percentage of time spent in the clinical and administrative domains were associated with significant declines.
Conclusions: The estimated actual work performed by EM physician faculty is greater than contracted and misaligned with their preferred type of work, the latter of which is associated with decreased job satisfaction. Improved job satisfaction and faculty retention might be achieved by increasing the percentage of time devoted to education and research, by increasing the core faculty contingent and by implementing tracking of non-clinical efforts.
Keywords: burnout; emergency medicine; emergency medicine faculty; graduate medical education; job satisfaction.
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