TOPLINE:
Primary care physicians who worked as part of a multidisciplinary team were more likely to have higher job satisfaction and lower occupational stress levels.
METHODOLOGY:
- Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of survey data from 2019 of primary care physicians carried out across 11 western countries to explore the relationship between team composition in primary care and occupational well-being.
- More than 13,000 physicians from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and the US were included.
- Occupational stress was measured on a scale from “extremely stressful” to “not at all stressful.” Job satisfaction was assessed using a similar scale.
- The composition of primary care staff could have included nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians or medical assistants, nutritionists, pharmacists, mental health professionals, physical therapists, and social workers.
- Five clusters (traditional, multidisciplinary, nurse-centered, psychologist-centered, and physiotherapist-centered models) were identified.
TAKEAWAY:
- Almost half of physicians reported high levels of occupational stress, with a similar proportion experiencing job satisfaction.
- Job satisfaction was notably higher among physicians when working in multidisciplinary teams (odds ratio [OR], 1.43; 95% CI, 1.26-1.62), psychologist-centered practices (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.09-1.42), or nurse-centered practices (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02-1.635) than when working in traditional practices.
