Purpose: Understanding job satisfaction in academia is important in order to recruit and retain faculty. Faculty members with greater job dissatisfaction are more likely to leave than faculty members who are satisfied. Physician assistant (PA) faculty job satisfaction needs to be assessed to determine which job facets are satisfying or dissatisfying.
Methods: A quantitative descriptive study was done using a Web-based survey sent to PA faculty. The Job Descriptive Index (JDI), a validated survey, was used to measure levels of job satisfaction. The means for each facet were calculated to indicate levels of satisfaction with the job overall, work, supervision, co-workers, pay, promotion, levels of stress, and trustworthiness in management. Correlations were run among demographic factors, salary, and overall job satisfaction.
Results: Of the 1,241 PA faculty that received the survey, 239 responses (19.3% response rate) met the criteria for study inclusion. The highest level of satisfaction was with one's co-workers (mean 46.83, range 0 to 54). The promotion facet received the lowest mean level of satisfaction with a 22.2 (range 0 to 54). A small correlation was found between job satisfaction and academic rank (r = -.153, P = .020).
Conclusion: Job satisfaction is linked to increased productivity and performance. It is important to understand job satisfaction to make improvements in the appropriate areas. Overall, the results indicate that PA faculty are satisfied with their jobs. Further research is needed to understand the factors that contribute to satisfaction among PA faculty.