Happiest Doctors Treat Children, Elderly

By Anna Tong McClatchy, Tribune News

November 27, 2009

The happiest doctors care for children and the elderly, according to a study on physician job satisfaction that found significant differences among medical specialties.

That doctors treating seniors are among the most satisfied contradicts trends in medical schools, where students mostly avoid the specialty because it's perceived to be unprofitable and unglamorous.

"Satisfaction ought to be a factor to students when they select their specialty," said Paul Leigh, lead author and a professor in the University of California Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research.

Neurosurgeons reported the lowest job satisfaction, followed by specialists in obstetrics and gynecology. The researchers pointed to four possible factors: irregular hours, malpractice lawsuits, loss of autonomy, and a relative decline in pay. 

Specialties with low job satisfaction could face a doctor shortage down the road, the researchers warned. 

The study, which culled data from a 2004 to 2005 nationwide survey of 6,500 physicians across 42 specialties, was published in BMC Health Services Research.

Geriatrics, a specialty within internal medicine dealing with the elderly, had the second-most satisfied doctors, behind pediatric emergency medicine. 

Yet last year, nationwide, there were only 250 medical school graduates trained in geriatrics, said Dr. Cheryl Phillips, president of the American Geriatrics Society.

"We don't do a very good job of exposing students to geriatrics," she said. "And when medical students are exposed to it, they say, 'Gee I could be a geriatrician and make $160,000 or a dermatologist and make $500,000.' "

Yet geriatricians are happy.

"We work very closely with the rest of the health care team, as opposed to many other specialties where physicians are often isolated," said Phillips.

This "team sport" idea also is reflected in pediatric emergency medicine.

Additionally, researchers found work-life balance is becoming more important among doctors, Leigh said.

"In the past medical students have been very attracted to income," Leigh said. "But having a controllable lifestyle is becoming more important."

Geriatrics is one specialty where doctors have control over their work hours, because elderly patients in nursing homes have flexible hours, Phillips said.
Dr. feel good? 
The study also found:

Gender: No difference in satisfaction between male and female docs.

Race: No difference in satisfaction among races. Studies have shown that in other careers, Latinos and blacks tend to be more unhappy than whites.

Age: Doctors under 44 and over 65 tend to be more satisfied. Those in between are among the most unhappy.

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