Retention of medical doctors in the public health sector: a case study of the Port Elizabeth Hospital complex
- Authors: Guvava, Dorothy Dorica
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Employee retention -- Port Elizabeth -- South Africa , Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8221 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/976 , Employee retention -- Port Elizabeth -- South Africa , Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The Port Elizabeth (PE) hospital complex is one of the public hospital groups in South Africa facing a critical shortage of medical practitioners, with reference to doctors in particular. In the quest of finding how to retain doctors in the hospital complex, the aims of this research were to survey doctors’ career intentions; to investigate factors that could be contributing to these career intentions so as to uncover some of the reasons why doctors are leaving the public sector; and to identify effective ways in which the government and hospitals might improve retention by pointing out areas that need improvement. The factors that influence doctors’ career intention included income, work conditions, risk of contracting infection, risk of injury at work, hours of work, work load, work related stress, paid leave days, resources, personal growth and development opportunities, ongoing training opportunities, advancement and promotion opportunities, relation with co-workers, relations with supervisor/superiors, and sense of meaning. Findings revealed that even though the tendency to leave’ group (43%) was smaller than the ‘tendency to stay’ (57%), the majority (85%) of those who intended to leave were younger doctors. Despite some significant differences in responses between the two groups, results revealed that both groups were dissatisfied with almost all conditions of work apart from relationships with supervisors and co-workers. To a large extent, both groups revealed that work conditions are better in the private hospitals than in their current hospitals. viii The fact that some doctors could stay in the public hospital sector despite intense dissatisfaction with conditions of work, and despite the perception that that there are better options in the private hospitals could be attributed to the fact that most of these doctors are older and are at their retirement stage . Adding to this is that most of these doctors, who indicated willingness to say, scored high in sense of meaning as a factor influencing their career intention. This research was based on the assumption that there was no retention strategy put in place to solve the problems facing PE hospital complex. However, during this research a strategy was being developed and implemented by the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Therefore, evaluation and recommendations of the strategy are provided in the conclusions of the study. These recommendations relate not only to the implementation of the strategy, but improving it to accommodate all problems currently facing the doctors and finding ways and means of making the strategy sustainable; creating private-public partnerships; focusing on creating a sense of meaning amongst the doctors (especially the younger ones) and focusing on retaining the risk group which was the younger doctors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Guvava, Dorothy Dorica
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Employee retention -- Port Elizabeth -- South Africa , Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8221 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/976 , Employee retention -- Port Elizabeth -- South Africa , Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The Port Elizabeth (PE) hospital complex is one of the public hospital groups in South Africa facing a critical shortage of medical practitioners, with reference to doctors in particular. In the quest of finding how to retain doctors in the hospital complex, the aims of this research were to survey doctors’ career intentions; to investigate factors that could be contributing to these career intentions so as to uncover some of the reasons why doctors are leaving the public sector; and to identify effective ways in which the government and hospitals might improve retention by pointing out areas that need improvement. The factors that influence doctors’ career intention included income, work conditions, risk of contracting infection, risk of injury at work, hours of work, work load, work related stress, paid leave days, resources, personal growth and development opportunities, ongoing training opportunities, advancement and promotion opportunities, relation with co-workers, relations with supervisor/superiors, and sense of meaning. Findings revealed that even though the tendency to leave’ group (43%) was smaller than the ‘tendency to stay’ (57%), the majority (85%) of those who intended to leave were younger doctors. Despite some significant differences in responses between the two groups, results revealed that both groups were dissatisfied with almost all conditions of work apart from relationships with supervisors and co-workers. To a large extent, both groups revealed that work conditions are better in the private hospitals than in their current hospitals. viii The fact that some doctors could stay in the public hospital sector despite intense dissatisfaction with conditions of work, and despite the perception that that there are better options in the private hospitals could be attributed to the fact that most of these doctors are older and are at their retirement stage . Adding to this is that most of these doctors, who indicated willingness to say, scored high in sense of meaning as a factor influencing their career intention. This research was based on the assumption that there was no retention strategy put in place to solve the problems facing PE hospital complex. However, during this research a strategy was being developed and implemented by the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Therefore, evaluation and recommendations of the strategy are provided in the conclusions of the study. These recommendations relate not only to the implementation of the strategy, but improving it to accommodate all problems currently facing the doctors and finding ways and means of making the strategy sustainable; creating private-public partnerships; focusing on creating a sense of meaning amongst the doctors (especially the younger ones) and focusing on retaining the risk group which was the younger doctors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Job satisfaction as experienced by doctors in public sector hospitals in Port Elizabeth
- Authors: John-Franklin, Nworgu
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Job satisfaction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8559 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/582 , Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Job satisfaction
- Description: South Africa is experiencing a brain drain of doctors. It is estimated that about 5000 doctors have left South Africa since 2003. Lack of job satisfaction has been identified as one of its causes. The purpose of this study was: To provide an overview of relevant literature concerning job satisfaction. To determine, by means of an empirical survey, whether doctors in the public sector experienced any factors, which were affecting their job satisfaction levels. To make recommendations as to how the job satisfaction levels of doctors in public sector hospitals could be increased. For the empirical study a survey, with a questionnaire as data collecting tool, was conducted among 59 permanently employed doctors at the Dora Nginza Hospital in Port Elizabeth. The questionnaire focused on biographical information, personality-job fit, job content factors and job context factors. For Section B, C and D of the questionnaire, the response options were structured according to a Likert-type scale. Respondents had to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each statement in the questionnaire. The responses obtained from the survey were presented and analysed. The researcher observed in this study that doctors were just satisfied with their jobs. Apart from the personality job fit factor of job satisfaction where excellent scores were recorded, there seemed to be problems with job content and job context factors. Management of Port Elizabeth Hospitals Complex has a challenge in improving job satisfaction of their doctors in these areas. The researcher recommends that management of Port Elizabeth Hospitals Complex should look into the satisfaction level of doctors in their employment. Doctors’ satisfaction level should be improved from being just satisfactory to being excellent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: John-Franklin, Nworgu
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Job satisfaction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8559 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/582 , Physicians -- Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Hospitals -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Job satisfaction
- Description: South Africa is experiencing a brain drain of doctors. It is estimated that about 5000 doctors have left South Africa since 2003. Lack of job satisfaction has been identified as one of its causes. The purpose of this study was: To provide an overview of relevant literature concerning job satisfaction. To determine, by means of an empirical survey, whether doctors in the public sector experienced any factors, which were affecting their job satisfaction levels. To make recommendations as to how the job satisfaction levels of doctors in public sector hospitals could be increased. For the empirical study a survey, with a questionnaire as data collecting tool, was conducted among 59 permanently employed doctors at the Dora Nginza Hospital in Port Elizabeth. The questionnaire focused on biographical information, personality-job fit, job content factors and job context factors. For Section B, C and D of the questionnaire, the response options were structured according to a Likert-type scale. Respondents had to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each statement in the questionnaire. The responses obtained from the survey were presented and analysed. The researcher observed in this study that doctors were just satisfied with their jobs. Apart from the personality job fit factor of job satisfaction where excellent scores were recorded, there seemed to be problems with job content and job context factors. Management of Port Elizabeth Hospitals Complex has a challenge in improving job satisfaction of their doctors in these areas. The researcher recommends that management of Port Elizabeth Hospitals Complex should look into the satisfaction level of doctors in their employment. Doctors’ satisfaction level should be improved from being just satisfactory to being excellent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
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