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Many fulfilling careers in medicine share a common factor, that is job satisfaction. Dissatisfaction on the other hand can lead to issues with the quality of work, relationships, and career longevity. This makes choosing the right medical specialty for your Medical Residency a vital decision. While 70% of Physicians report feeling satisfied with their medical career, there are some specialties that rate higher in job satisfaction than others *.
Research out of UCD Medical Center evaluating Physician Career Satisfaction Across Specialties helps provide some interesting insights into which specialties Physicians report as most satisfying to work in as well as factors affecting these levels. The top 4 medical specialties that Physicians reported the highest job satisfaction levels were:'
There are multiple factors that can influence whether or not a job feels satisfying. Variables like Income, Physician age, and practice location were all found to positively influence whether many Physicians felt satisfied or not in their specialty.
Income: Not too surprisingly, compensation appears to play a significant role in satisfaction levels for Physicians. Earnings totaling around $250,000-299,000 annually seem to be the sweet spot in regard to maximal satisfaction levels *.
Age: Physicians practicing on either end of the age bell curve report highest satisfaction levels. Less than 35 years old and 65 to 74-year-old Physicians reported the highest satisfaction levels *.
Practice Location: The country doctor may actually be the happier doctor. Rural Physicians were most likely to report being satisfied versus colleagues practicing in larger cities and urban areas *.
*. Leigh JP, Kravitz RL, Schembri M, Samuels SJ, Mobley S. Physician Career Satisfaction Across Specialties. Arch Intern Med. 2002;162(14):1577–1584. doi:10.1001/archinte.162.14.1577.2. Salary.com Physician Salaries. Accessed on July 19, 2019.
