Factors influencing satisfaction for family practice residency faculty.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Prior published family medicine faculty satisfaction survey results were performed in 1975, 1984, and 1989. The current survey identified specific factors that contribute to family medicine faculty satisfaction and career decision making.
METHODS: We mailed a self-administered questionnaire to a proportionate random sample of family medicine faculty of residency programs identified by a pre-survey of programs. The eight-page survey explored 60 professional, scheduling, compensation, and regional factors as they related to overall satisfaction and career plans. The survey also explored 59 similar factors related to the initial decision to enter academic family medicine.
RESULTS: Of 383 respondents (59.2% response rate), 93% felt satisfied overall with their faculty roles. Eighty-six percent felt appreciated in their current program, and 94% reported a positive sense of professional challenge. Satisfaction, appreciation, and challenge were strongly intercorrelated and were also positively related to whether the faculty surveyed planned to stay in their current position. The opportunity to mentor residents, the ability to keep more up to date with medical information, and income level stood out as being the most significant of all the factors in predicting overall satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS: The faculty surveyed indicated high levels of satisfaction, feeling appreciated, and professional challenge. The results of this cross-sectional survey identify factors most related to satisfaction and the initial decision to enter academic family medicine.