Relationships with patients most rewarding
When asked about the most rewarding part of their job, internists ranked “gratitude/relationships with patients” at the top. In this survey, internists spent about the same amount of time with patients that all physicians spent with patients on average, 37.9 hours per week.
“Making good money at a job I like” was the fourth-biggest driver of satisfaction (only 11% said that was the most rewarding part), behind “being very good at what I do/finding answers, diagnoses” and “knowing that I’m making the world a better place.”
Some questions on the survey pertained to the use of advanced practice providers. More than half of internists (54%) reported their practice included nurse practitioners (NPs), and 36% included physician assistants (PAs); 37% employed neither.
Half of the internists who employed NPs and PAs said they had no effect on profitability, 44% said they increased it, and 6% said they decreased it. Physicians overall were split (47% each) on whether NPs and PAs increased profitability or had no effect on it.
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.