Factors associated with job and personal satisfaction in adult Brazilian intensivists

OBJECTIVE To evaluate job and personal satisfaction rates in physicians who work in adult intensive care units and to identify the factors associated with satisfaction. METHODS A cross-sectional study performed with physicians who participated in two intensive medicine online discussion groups. A questionnaire designed to assess the physician's sociodemographic profile and job was available for both groups for 3 months. At the end of the questionnaire, the participants addressed their degrees of job and personal satisfaction using a Likert scale in which 1 represented "very dissatisfied" and 5 represented "very satisfied". The association between sociodemographic and job characteristics with job and personal satisfaction was evaluated. Variables independently associated with satisfaction were identified using a logistic regression model. RESULTS The questionnaire was answered by 250 physicians, of which 137 (54.8%) declared they were satisfied with their jobs and 34 (13.5%) were very satisfied. None of the evaluated characteristics were independently associated with job satisfaction. Regarding personal satisfaction, 136 (54.4%) physicians reported being satisfied, and 48 (19.9%) reported being very satisfied. Job satisfaction (OR = 7.21; 95%CI 3.21 - 16.20) and working in a university hospital (OR = 3.24; 95%CI 1.29 - 8.15) were factors independently associated with the personal satisfaction of the participants. CONCLUSION The participant physicians reported job and personal satisfaction with their work in intensive care. Job satisfaction and working in a university hospital were independently associated with greater personal satisfaction.