According to a recent study, physicians are 26% more productive when engaged than when disengaged. Quality of care, patient satisfaction, treatment outcomes, and the success of a hospital largely depends on physician engagement, satisfaction, and well-being. It’s incredibly important for healthcare executives to care about the well-being of their physicians if they want to maintain their organisation’s stability and patient care.
That means identifying and taking care of physicians’ personal and professional needs and improving relationships with them to ensure their satisfaction. This can help you get the most out of your healthcare professionals in delivering quality medical care to patients. Here are some of the key things physicians today want from hospitals:
Career development
Firstly, physicians prefer working in hospitals with opportunities for career advancement. In fact, about 87% of millennials report development opportunities to be crucial in a job. Career development is crucial for physicians since it allows them to continually enrich their professional knowledge and skills. Hospitals should ensure physician compensation reflects their commitment and time to their job. (Check the latest physician jobs here). Offering physicians attractive compensation packages can motivate them and show them they’re valued. The compensation package should include other financial benefits, bonuses, and allowances.
Medical institutions should make learning and growth a part of the job and provide the necessary financial assistance for physicians to learn new skills and advance their careers. By advancing their careers, physicians increase their professional aptitudes, increase their productivity and offer quality services to patients.
Good compensation
While a physician’s salary may seem higher than most professions, many don’t feel like they’re paid enough. In fact, research shows that top earners in the healthcare sector aren’t doctors but rather hospital and insurance executives. Most doctors also have hundreds of thousands in student loans they’re required to pay, which is another reason for their discontentment.
Hospitals should ensure physician compensation reflects their commitment and time to their job. Offering physicians attractive compensation packages can motivate them and show them they’re valued. The compensation package should include other financial benefits, bonuses, and allowances.
Work-life balance
Like other workers, healthcare professionals need time off from their workplace to attend to their families and other obligations. This is especially true given that physicians have high-stress jobs, which could lead to burnout. Hospitals should address this problem by creating flexible work schedules that allow physicians to enjoy a work-life balance.
Besides flexible working hours, hospitals should include on-call hours, sick leaves, and paid holidays in their employment terms. To prevent burnout, hospitals should take the necessary measures to meet their physicians’ personal and emotional needs. They should also set aside time for doctors to meet and discuss the best ways to deal with the stress of the job.
Greater decision-making control
Most physicians want greater control in a hospital’s decision-making and services that facilitate their medical practice. Doctors prefer working in hospitals, which gives them more freedom to make independent decisions about choices of patients and patient care in the best interest of the patient without unduly administrative requirements or restrictive laws and regulations.
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By addressing the issues above, hospitals can create the kind of workplace that prioritizes physicians’ personal and professional needs. This will help ensure the satisfaction and well-being of physicians, building trust and ensuring they are productive, competent, and successful in their roles.
Tim Williamson, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
