Worklife and Satisfaction of General Internists

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Abstract
GENERAL INTERNISTS provide a large proportion of adult primary care in the United States; therefore, the future of this specialty is vital to the US health care system. Yet, job dissatisfaction among general internists is prevalent.1-3 Prior studies2,4-7 have revealed that general internists remain satisfied with their patient and colleague relationships and the intellectual challenge of the profession. However, they are dissatisfied with their income and the lack of control over their practices, with more time spent on administrative and business aspects and less time available to see patients.2,4-7 A lack of general internist enthusiasm for their specialty and primary care has also been documented.2,3,8 A national study2 of generalist and subspecialist internists revealed that 40% would, if given the choice, select a career other than internal medicine and 40% discouraged medical students from entering their specialty. Zinn and colleagues8 found similar career satisfaction between academic general internists and family physicians (FPs). However, general internists were much less likely to encourage medical students to enter primary care than were FPs (36% vs 86%), an action known to affect student career choices.9