Understanding Physician Work Motivation

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Development and validation of a measure of physician work motivation.

Detailed Description
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Not that long ago, most physicians were solo practitioners. Today, more physicians are working in large, integrated delivery systems, and many are employed by hospitals and multispecialty group practices. These dramatic changes in the physician work environment raise important questions on how evolving physician payment and care delivery models support or undermine your motivation and ability to deliver high-quality patient care. To evaluate the impact of workplace changes on what motivates physician to deliver good patient care, this study aims to develop an accurate measure of physician work motivation. Simultaneously, the investigators plan to test hypotheses on the role of various workplace and psychological factors in physicians' work motivation. Namely, the investigators hypothesize that: 20 to 25% of the variance in work motivation is explained by psychological needs satisfaction; 5 to 10% of the variance in self-reported overall health status and depression is explained by work motivation; 5% of the variation in work motivation is explained by work that is seen as a calling; and 5 to 10% of the variation in medicine viewed as a calling is explained by the learning environment.

Official Title
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Physician Work Motivation: A Measure Validation Study

Conditions
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Physician Work Motivation

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: No intervention employed. Study is based on a cross-sectional observational design.


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: practicing physicians in all medical specialties resident physicians in all medical specialties fourth year medical students in US allopathic medical schools Exclusion Criteria: physicians without an active medical license. resident physicians without an active medical license. fourth year medical students in US osteopathic medical schools

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 21 Years
Maximum Age: 90 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| physicians<br>Nationally-representative sample of physicians in all specialties who have direct or indirect patient care responsibilities | Other: No intervention employed. Study is based on a cross-sectional observational design.<br> <br> |
| resident physicians<br>Nationally-representative of resident physicians in all specialties | Other: No intervention employed. Study is based on a cross-sectional observational design.<br> <br> |
| medical students<br>Nationally-representative sample of 4th year medical students in all US allopathic medical schools. | Other: No intervention employed. Study is based on a cross-sectional observational design.<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Internalization of work motivation (self-reported) | Composite measure comprised of 15 items using 7-point Likert-type response categories (not at all true-very true) to assess extent of psychological internalization of work motivation | Up to 4 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Psychological needs satisfaction at work (self-reported) | Composite measure comprised of 12 statements using 7-point Likert-type response categories (not at all true-very true) to assess perceived fulfillment of needs for autonomy, self-efficacy/competence, relatedness, and purpose in work context | Up to 4 months | 
| Overall health status (self-reported) | Proportion of respondents reporting own overall health as excellent, very good, or good vs. fair or poor | Up to 4 months | 
| Depression (self-reported) | Proportion of respondents reporting a score of >3 on a two-item depression screening instrument (patient health questionnaire-2) | Up to 4 months | 
| Medicine as a calling | Composite measure comprised of 15 statements using true/false response scale to assess view of work as calling, career, or job | Up to 4 months | 
| Medical learning environment that supports professionalism | Composite measure comprised of 13 statements using 5-point Likert-type response scale (strongly disagree-strongly agree) to assess experiences of medical professionalism in medical students' learning environments | Up to 4 months |