Job satisfaction among ladiation therapy educators.

Overall employment in the United States fell dramatically in the late 1990s until late 2003, and only recently has the employment outlook improved. Despite a decline in overall employment rates in the United States during the past decade, the number of jobs within the health care industry has risen. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that the health care sector added another 255 000 jobs during 2003, thus continuing its stature as one of the strongest sectors in the U.S. economy. (1)

Currently, health professions with the greatest need for employees include nursing, pharmacy and radiation sciences. (1) An American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) report estimated that the radiation sciences will need to recruit approximately 90 000 more workers by 2010, including 7000 more radiation therapists, 8000 more nuclear medicine technologists and 75 000 more radiographers. (2) Similarly, the BLS reported an increase of 31.6% in the number of radiation therapists needed by 2012. (1)

Hilton reported in 2003 that a shortage of radiologic technology educators, including radiation therapy educators, existed in the United States. (3) Common reasons cited for the shortage included the overall shortage of personnel in radiologic technology, low faculty salaries and difficulty finding faculty with appropriate academic preparation and degrees. These reasons, coupled with programmatic and institutional demands associated with faculty positions, contribute to the present shortage. Hilton projected the shortage to grow in the next several years as a large number of educators in the profession prepare for retirement. Considering the demands associated with radiation therapy educator positions and the availability of other options for educators, the question arises as to why radiation therapy faculty members remain in education.

Job satisfaction is one of the most consistent variables related to employee retention. Hapaz suggested that low morale and job dissatisfaction are correlated closely with increased turnover rates. (4) According to Kreisler, turnover in any organization is expensive; the average cost to replace an employee is roughly 30% of the employee's salary. (5) This total includes costs incurred while the position is vacant, costs associated with finding and selecting a replacement and costs related to training the new employee. (6)

Research on job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of radiation therapy faculty might reveal factors and relationships that influence faculty to stay in higher education positions and could offer insights into the recruitment practices needed to increase the number of educators in the profession. Given the current environment of greater job mobility, increasing pay, more opportunities and fewer employees, it is critical for health care institutions as well as educational programs to find and retain qualified personnel, including faculty. Similarly, it is imperative for educational programs to recruit and retain qualified faculty to meet the demand for competent radiologic technologists. Job satisfaction is central to these issues.

Given the shortage of radiation therapists today and government projections for greater shortages in the future, it is imperative to understand the determinants of radiation therapy faculty job satisfaction and identify the factors that influence job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The future supply of clinical radiation therapists will be determined by the availability of qualified radiation therapy faculty to teach and administer these programs. To meet future educational and societal needs, it will be necessary to recruit additional faculty and students into the radiation therapy profession.

Literature Review

Although there is a multitude of research on job satisfaction among a variety of disciplines and occupations, studies of radiation therapists are limited. A Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database search revealed only 1 study relating to radiation therapy and job satisfaction. However, other studies on the broader field of radiography and job satisfaction are discussed. Research findings on job satisfaction among educators in other health professions also are presented.

Radiologic Technologists

Johnson and colleagues sought to determine if job satisfaction was influenced by personality characteristics among a sample of radiation therapists residing in southern Florida. (7) The authors used 4 instruments (ie, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, Professional Satisfaction Questionnaire and Personality Research Form) in a correlation research design to determine the influence of demographic variables on radiation therapists' job satisfaction. Respondents expressed high levels of job satisfaction, and the majority found their jobs important and gratifying. Many enjoyed the technical aspects of the job and cited helping people as the primary reason for choosing the profession.

Personality characteristics as well as management, family and institutional factors all appeared to influence professional and job satisfaction. However, the limited nature of the sample restricts the generalizability of the research results.

Radiologic technologists working at a southwestern regional medical center were surveyed to evaluate their perceived organizational climate and, in particular, attitudes toward job satisfaction. (8) A portion of the questionnaire was based on the Job Descriptive Index. The authors reported that the radiology department ranked significantly below average compared with other hospital departments. The authors concluded that understaffing and a poor salary structure played a pivotal role in employee turnover and job dissatisfaction in the radiology department. Again, the generalizability of the results is limited due to the narrow sample.

Wernick conducted a nationwide survey of radiologic technologists to determine their level of job satisfaction. (9) The survey instrument was published in a well-known and widely distributed professional journal and recipients were asked to detach, complete and return the survey to the principal investigator. Survey respondents (n = 386) commonly cited a sense of satisfaction derived from interactions with patients and families. Other recognizable factors associated with job satisfaction included workload variety, flexibility of hours, relationships with coworkers and working with state-of-the-art equipment. Factors associated with dissatisfaction included stress due to administrative tasks, lack of consistent leadership, low salaries and working on outdated equipment. Results of this study must be interpreted carefully because of the potential for response bias and the nonrandom sample.

Akroyd and Shewchuk conducted a job satisfaction study of 161 full-time radiographers working in the hospital setting. (10) Results indicated that the work itself, pay and supervision all played a significant role in job satisfaction. The authors found that overall job satisfaction for radiographers correlated highly with intrinsic rewards such as increased autonomy and workload variety. Pay structure also was shown to be a significant factor in overall job satisfaction for radiographers. Satisfaction with current earnings or potential earnings figured highly into whether radiographers would remain in their current position or seek another. Employees with more autonomy and a work environment that promoted respect, fairness and recognition of skills indicated a higher degree of job satisfaction.

Health Professions Educators

Embry used the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) to explore job satisfaction among nurse anesthesia faculty. (11) Nurse anesthesia educators (n = 304) expressed a moderate degree of job satisfaction. MSQ subscales that correlated highest with job satisfaction included social service, moral values, achievement, ability utilization, activity and variety. The 5 subscales associated with the least amount of job satisfaction included company policies and practices, recognition, advancement, supervision-human relations and compensation.

Cosgrove investigated occupational therapy faculty's perceptions of program director leadership and the impact of program directors' behavior on the job satisfaction of occupational therapy faculty. (12) Data were collected via 4 survey instruments: the Job Descriptive Index and the Job in General Scale, the Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer and the Demographic Data Questionnaire. Occupational therapy faculty (n = 122) generally were satisfied with their jobs. Furthermore, employee perceptions of the program director's leadership behaviors significantly and positively influenced their job satisfaction. Other factors influencing job satisfaction included present pay and coworkers.

Job satisfaction among nursing faculty has been investigated because of its impact on the production of nursing graduates. Kuennen evaluated job satisfaction among nurse educators in private colleges and universities in a Midwestern state. (13) Study results indicated that nursing faculty (n = 85) were satisfied with their jobs in general. Although the work, workload and collegiality were associated with job satisfaction, collegiality was the most significant predictor of job satisfaction.