Job satisfaction and burnout among Iraqi physicians : insight from university hospital surveys

Abstract EN

Job satisfaction is extremely varied across different professions and different countries.

It has been linked to burnout syndrome in a complex cause-effect relationship.

Physicians of different grades are deemed as one of the most vulnerable service providers due to heavy workload and professional challenges.

Various personal and environmental factors predispose to or alleviate the morbidity of job dissatisfaction and burnout.

These critical psychological phenomena are under researched in Arab countries.

Objectives: The present study aims to explore the level of job satisfaction and prevalence of burnout; and, to determine and assess the effect of stress relief factors among a group of Iraqi physicians.

Method: N=310 medical residents and specialists in three university hospitals in Baghdad completed the questionnaire formats, including demographic and job characteristics, a job satisfaction survey, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and suggested stress-relief factors during 2016.

Results: The majority of participants were residents with an equal male to female ratio and mean age of 34.7 years.

Low level of burnout affected 91.3% with the highest rate reported in the depersonalization (DP) subscale.

There was no significant difference between burnout and the studied stress-relief factor.

Conclusion: It is crucial for any health care system to provide a work environment that maintains better levels of job satisfaction and prevents burnout for its working physicians.

The present study indicated that physicians working and living in Iraq are overwhelmed by job and environmental stress; their resilience helped to keep a stream of health care services functioning.

Larger studies on burnout amongst Iraqi physcians are needed