Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31412843›Full record

ArticleBMC surgery2019

The workday of hospital surgeons: what they do, what makes them satisfied, and the role of core tasks and administrative tasks; a diary study.

Eliane Holzer, Franziska Tschan, Maria U Kottwitz, Guido Beldi, Adrian P Businger, Norbert K Semmer

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC surgery, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Eliane HolzerInstitute for Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Franziska TschanInstitute for Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Maria U KottwitzDepartment of Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstr. 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
Guido BeldiDepartment of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Adrian P BusingerFederal Department of Defense, Swiss Armed Forces, Switzerland and Private University in the Principality of Liechtenstein, Triesen, Liechtenstein.
Norbert K SemmerDepartment of Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstr. 8, 3012, Bern, Switzerland. norbert.semmer@psy.unibe.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7686-6914

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMany surgeons report passion for their work, but not all tasks are likely to be satisfying. Little is known about how hospital surgeons spend their days, how they like specific tasks, and the role of core tasks (i.e. surgery-related tasks) versus tasks that may keep them from core tasks (e.g., administrative work). This study aimed at a more detailed picture of hospital surgeons' daily work - how much time they spend with different tasks, how they like them, and associations with satisfaction.

methodsHospital surgeons (N = 105) responded to a general survey, and 81 of these provided up to five daily questionnaires concerning daily activities and their attractiveness, as well as their job satisfaction. The data were analyzed using t-tests, analysis of variance, as well as analysis of covariance and repeated measures analysis of variance for comparing means across tasks.

resultsAmong 14 tasks, surgery-related tasks took 21.2%, patient-related tasks 21.7% of the surgeons' time; 10.4% entailed meetings and communicating about patients, and 18.6% documentation and administration. The remaining time was spent with teaching, research, leadership and management, and not task-related activities (e.g. walking between rooms). Surgery was rated as most (4.25; SD = .66), administration as least attractive (2.63; SD = .78). A higher percentage of administration predicted lower perceived legitimacy; perceived legitimacy of administrative work predicted job satisfaction (r = .47). Residents were least satisfied; there were few gender differences.

conclusionsSurgeons seem to thrive on their core tasks, most notably surgery. By contrast, administrative duties are likely perceived as keeping them from their core medical tasks. Increasing the percentage of medical tasks proper, notably surgery, and reducing administrative duties may contribute to hospital surgeons' job satisfaction.

Indexed as

Job SatisfactionAdultBiomedical ResearchCommunicationDocumentationFemaleHospital AdministrationHumansLeadershipMaleMiddle AgedPhysician-Patient RelationsSurgeonsSurveys and QuestionnairesTeachingWorkloadAdministrationCore tasksDaily activitiesHospital surgeonsJob satisfactionTask attractiveness

Identifiers

PMID31412843
PMCPMC6694625

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.