ABSTRACT
Objectives: to measure the degree of job satisfaction among physicians working in a Tertiary Care Hospital and to identify background and work environment characteristics that affect overall and differential job satisfaction
Subjects and Methods: this is a cross-sectional study of 340 physicians selected from a Tertiary Care Center using a stratified random sample with proportional allocation using a self-administered questionnaire with the 5-point Likert scale. From the 340 physicians requested to participate in the study, 217 [63.8%] completed the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used appropriately, including mean +/- standard deviation for the quantitative variables, while frequency and percentages were used for the qualitative variables. ANOVA, t-test, and Chi-square were used as necessary to determine if there are any significant relationships between satisfaction scores and the predictor variables
Results: a total of 217 physicians [males 75.6% females 24.4%] completed the questionnaire. Of this total, 52.5% were non-Saudis. The overall perceived satisfaction as measured by one question was 3.42 points out of 5 [68.4%] significantly lower than the overall satisfaction which took in consideration all variables 3.67 points [73.4%]. Mean satisfaction scores were significantly negatively related to the number of children [P < 0.001] the physicians had, but positively correlated to stipend, duration of vacation leave, sick leave policy, health coverage for the employee and family, overall benefits package, involvement in academic work, and involvement in research work [P < 0.001]
Conclusion: the working environment and policies of an organization play important roles in the satisfaction of its physicians. Boosting physician satisfaction is important for both the success of a Tertiary Care Center and for the high quality services offered to patients
ABSTRACT
Extramedullary adrenal plasmacytoma [EMP] involving the adrenal glands is rarely encountered clinicaly. We report a A 47-year-old male who presented with bilateral adrenal incidentalomas. After confirming EMP, the patient received two consecutive autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants [HSCT] using high-dose melphalan. Following HSCT, a serial follow-up helical CT revealed a substantial decrease in the size of both adrenal masses. Serial periodic serum protein and urine electrophoresis and immunofixation showed abrogation of a previously noted monoclonal band. At 50 months follow-up the patient was alive and well. Our patient is the first with EMP to have received an autologous HSCT, which may prove to have a role in therapy due to the immunological effect of the infused donor marrow T-lymphocytes against the clonal proliferation of abnormal plasma cells in extrammedullary sites. This case indicates that an EMP should be added to the differential diagnosis of adrenal incidentalomas