JOB SATISFACTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF MEDICAL DOCTORS IN CALABAR, SOUTHERN NIGERIA.

BACKGROUND

Employees should be happy at their work, considering the amount of time they devote to it throughout their working life. There is paucity of data on the job satisfaction and psychological health of medical doctors in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the level of job satisfaction and its relationship to psychological health among medical doctors in a southern city of Nigeria.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional descriptive survey.

SETTING

Three major public hospitals in Calabar, Nigeria.

SUBJECTS

Medical doctors who had worked for at least six months in the hospitals.

RESULTS

Response rate was 73.0%. More than half (56.7%) of the respondents expressed overall satisfaction with their job. Inadequate pay and work overload were the most commonly mentioned reasons for job dissatisfaction. About a fifth of the respondents were at increased likelihood of psychological disorder. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between job satisfaction scores and GHQ scores. Satisfied respondents were least likely to have psychological disorder.

CONCLUSION

Causes of job dissatisfaction among medical doctors should be addressed to improve their psychological health.