Job satisfaction of physiotherapists in the field of public sector with special reference to National Hospital of Sri LankaINTRODUCTIONPhysical therapy or Physiotherapy is a clinical health profession which is currently practicing in globally.It aims to rehabilitate and improve people with movement disorders.Physiotherapy can be in followed indifferent streams like Basic Sciences stream, Applied Physiotherapy stream, Behavioral Sciences stream, Clinical Practice stream and Research stream. But the most popular one is Clinical aspects of Physiotherapy as that field has many job opportunities.
In clinical physiotherapy it is prominent in orthopedic treatments of patients. That is a global situation and when it consider with Sri Lankan situation Physiotherapists have good job opportunities both in public and private sector. After qualifying as a physiotherapist they can work in a public or private hospital or they can start their own physical therapy service. At the same time, it is noted that there are some physiotherapists those who are not having job satisfaction only working with public sector they have joined hands with private sector as part time workers.Job satisfaction it varies from person to person and within any one person from time to time relationship. At the same time job satisfaction depends with factors affecting about their safety, management conflict, and balancing the needs of job and family. A person with a high level of job satisfaction will hold positive feelings towards the job and a person who is dissatisfied will hold negative feelings about the job and this condition indirectly affects to achieve any organizational vision.
All persons who work in public sector are bound to work according to government policies and here in this study…….it is very common factor that the satisfaction level of physiotherapists is differs from public sector to private sector in our country.Public sector refers to government-owned organizations and government-provided services. Private sector refers to 1) organizations that are not government owned, and 2) the goods and services provided by organizations outside of the government. For example, companies owned by individuals are part of the private sector. The primary difference between public- and private-sector jobs is that public-sector jobs are generally within a government agency, whilst private-sector jobs are those where employees are working for non-governmental agencies. Public sector can perform just as well as, and often better than, the private sector is not to argue that it does not need reform in many instances. The public sector can be equally blighted with problems of corruption at the higher levels of managementThe National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) is a government hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Founded in 1864 as the General Hospital, it is the leading hospital in Sri Lanka and is controlled by the central government. “Centre of Excellence in Health Care” is the vision of this hospital and currently it had 3500 beds. The hospital consists of 18 intensive care units and 21 operating theaters. It employs 7,500 staff of which 1,500 are doctors. The hospital carries out 5,000 major and minor surgeries each month and treats over two million out patients a year.
Situated on a 36-acre site, it includes, several units including School of Physiotherapy, and the University of Colombo’s Faculty of Medicine. The aim of this study is to find out the best predictors of job satisfaction and to investigate the level of job satisfaction among the number of 101 physiotherapists work in NHSL.KEY WORDS – JOB SATISFACTION, PHYSIOTHERAPHY, PUBLIC SECTOR AND NATIONAL HOSPITAL OF SRI LANKA.
02. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Physiotherapy can be simply explain as the treatment of injury, disease and disorders through physical methods like exercise, massage, manipulation and other treatments like medication and surgery. Many people may be of the instruction that physiotherapists mainly work with back and sports related injuries, but they would be very mistaken. Physiotherapists are highly trained multi-disciplinary team players within the group of health professionals who provide treatment for people suffering from physical problems arising from injury, disease, ill condition and ageing. Their aim is to improve and develop a person’s quality of life by using a variety of treatments to alleviate pain and restoreprevious function or, in the case of permanent injury or disease, to reduce or lessen the effects of any dysfunction.02.
1 THE JOB ROLE OF THE PHISIOTHERAPHISTThe role of a physiotherapist is extremely varied with each day, no two days being the same. Physiotherapist may have to assess the physical condition of a patient for the purpose of diagnose problems and develop a treatment plan. Sometimes, alternatively they could also be re-training patients to walk, to cope with crutches whenever necessary, walking with the help of frames, or wheelchairs.
As professionals they will also be responsible for educating their patients, families, as well as the whole community to prevent injuries and help people to lead healthy lifestyles. In some instances the physiotherapist may be asked to plan and put in place community fitness programmers. There are some countries physiotherapists can also issue sick leave certificates if it be deemed necessary to do so.During the course of their career a physiotherapist is trained to look after all manner of people including children with cerebral palsy, premature babies, pregnant women, people undergoing rehabilitation, athletes, the elderly, and those who need help following heart disease, strokes, or major surgery. Sports medicine, children’s health (pediatrics), and women’s health are the number of different areas Physiotherapists can be specialized. By considering all these parameters there are three different areas of practice. Those are: • Musculoskeletal which is also called orthopedic physiotherapy and is used to treat conditions such as sprains, back pain, arthritis, strains, incontinence, bursitis, posture problems, sport and workplace injuries, plus reduced mobility.
Rehabilitationafter following surgery is also included within this category.• Neurological- which is used to treat disorders of the nervous system including strokes, spinal cord injuries, acquired brain injuries, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. It can also be used for rehabilitationafter following brain surgery.• Area of Cardiothoracic the treatment of used asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other cardio-respiratory disorders.According to the situation and facilities available in NHSL most of physiotherapists have been allocated to the above mentioned different areas in field of physiotherapy.
02-1 RESEARCH ARTICLE 1When it comes to Job satisfaction (JS) it designates how people feel towards their jobs, whether they like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) their jobs..Robbins (2005) defines job Satisfaction as a collection of feelings that an individual holds towards his or her job .This implies that a person with a high level of job satisfaction will hold positive feelings towards the job and a person who is dissatisfied will hold negative feelings about the job. Regarding organization comprises of people, it is their satisfaction which can make or mars the performance of an organization. Employee satisfaction is important in determining how far an organization achieves its goals. Job satisfaction leads to their life satisfaction.
Job satisfaction is generally depended on Employee’s attitudes towards the job, job situation and the organizational management. There are lots of factors which influence JS comprise several aspects pertaining to the job situation, such as salary, career development, the nature of the work, the policies and procedures of an institution , working environment and conditions, relationships with other staff ,clients and their relatives and management, and individual needs. Labor market behavior is also depends on JS trends and it can affect and influence work productivity, work effort, employee absenteeism, and staff burnout and turnover. Moreover, JS is considered a strong predictor of overall individual well-being, organizational success and a good predictor of the intentions or decisions of employees to leave a job Among health care professions, similar factors have been reported to contribute to JS, including competitive pay, adequate staffing, flexible scheduling, feeling of worthwhile accomplishment from their job, opportunities for personal and professional growth, recognition, noticeable progress of patients, positive relationships with co-workers, autonomy on the job, a pleasant working environment, a reasonable workload, the nature of the work, supervision, communication, benefits, job security, career advancement and contingent rewards etc. .
Accordingly it was proved that Job satisfaction is a complex function of a number of variables. A person may be satisfied with one or more aspects of his or her job but at the same time may be they are not satisfied or unhappy with other things related to the job.Accordingly it was proved that Job satisfaction is a complex function of a number of variables. A person may be satisfied with one or more aspects of his or her job but at the same time may be they are not satisfied or unhappy with other things related to the job.02-2 RESEARCH ARTICLE 2According to the journal Malays J Med Sci.
2012 Apr-Jun; 19(2): 19–26 the research about Comparison of Job Satisfaction among Eight Health Care Professions in Private Settings done by Chen Ai-Hong, JaafarSaidahNafisah, and Md Noor Abdul Rahim This type of study has not been well studied in Malaysia. This study aimed to compare the job satisfaction level among 8 groups of health care professionals in private settings, using the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). The Methods used were they have taken a total of 81 health care professionals in different categories ,of hospital settings ,including nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists etc,They were interviewed using the Job Satisfaction Survey scale invented by Dr Paul E Specter. Their job satisfaction scores were calculated and determined. Study reveals that physiotherapists were moderately satisfied with their overall JS; they were relatively more satisfied in terms of supervision, co-workers, the nature of the work, and communication, but were less satisfied with promotion and fringe benefits among the 9 facets of the JSS considered within the profession.
In conclusion it was proved that differences in JS were found in the region of promotion, supervision, operating conditions, co-workers, the nature and type of the work, and the pattern of communication, but it was not due to the pay, fringe benefits, and contingent rewards among the different type of health care workers. Accordingly they have made a special recommendation that all organizations providing health care services are encouraged to conduct JS surveys among health care professionals to improve the patients satisfaction through the services provided by early intervention in any dissatisfaction expressed towards various facets of the job.02.2 RESEARCH ARTICLE 3According to the research of ?enduran M, Ünver B, Ünver Koçak F, Narin S.
Job satisfaction among physiotherapists living in Aegean Region of Turkey, their Purpose was to investigate job satisfaction level of a group of physiotherapists living in a region of Turkey. Methods they followed were Turkish version of Speakman’s Job Satisfaction Questionnaire was e-mailed to 164 physiotherapists working in two cities of Aegean Region. The questionnaire was about their professional physiotherapy practice, agreement and importance. Respondents rated through Likert type scale and results noted from 68.9 % responses. Junior Physiotherapists had more paperwork. Physiotherapists with Master’s and higher degreesgave more responsibilities to improve necessary areas compared to bachelors.
Physiotherapists in private clinics had more interest of work regards satisfaction. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of total satisfaction scores (p>0.05). Total scores showed significant satisfaction levels in terms of job fulfillment, job interest and opportunities enabling improvement.LowerSatisfaction levels were noted for having enough autonomy and sufficient independence in clinical decision-making, being overworked and physical difficulties.
Conclusions: They were not satisfied in terms of job autonomy. Having adequate autonomy and independence in clinical decision-making are important predictors of job satisfaction among Turkish physiotherapists.02.3 RESEARCH ARTICLE 4PROBLEM IN BRIEFA comparison of the JS of physiotherapy professionals who work in public and private sector has not been well studied in Sri Lanka. But in generally it is believe that most of Sri Lankan physiotherapists work in public sector is not satisfying with their job performances and also with job related benefits.
Most of them do part times jobs in private sector or else they do private practices by doing home visits etc. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the overall JS among the physiotherapy care professionals in the public sector with special reference to National Hospital in Sri Lanka..
04. GENERAL OBJECTIVETo identifying back ground of physiotherapy care and other related factors for physiotherapists, job satisfaction of National Hospital of Sri Lanka and make recommendations to implement suitable interventions for improving their job satisfaction by focusing institutional productivity and their personal lives.Specific objectives1. To identifying the back ground of physiotherapy care in National Hospital of Sri Lanka and roles of physiotherapists and their responsibilities.
2. To identifying factors associated with multi disciplinary team approach and job satisfaction of NHSL physiotherapy staff3. To understand kind of external factors affecting for job satisfaction of physiotherapists in NHSL.4. To analyze the various factors influence for requesting annual transfers just after the compulsory period of working in a particular places. 5. To suggest and make recommendations on improving job satisfaction of physiotherapists who work at NIMH.05.
MATERIALS/ METHODOLOGY AND RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS05.1 RESEARCH DESIGN Study will be included number of 101 males and females who are working as physiotherapy professionals in NHSL. The speak man scale and general job satisfaction questionnaire were used to collect the data along with the necessary personal and demographical data.(A self-administrated questionnaire survey will be introduced in December 2018) In data Analysis descriptive statistics, logistic regression, discriminate analysis and correlation will be done using SPSSBefore conducting the study, an introductory session for the purpose of doing awareness about the research methodology will be held in a suitable day. Preliminary interviews will be done through distributing a questionnaire to identify whether the professionals are mentally and physically fit to participate in the study. In addition, a inform consent form will be introducing and given to obtain their written consent.
After obtaining the consent the questionnaire will be given them and separate files need to be maintained by protecting their confidentiality. The results will be recorded in a data entry sheet. A separate data entry sheet will be maintained for each professional.05.2 STUDY SETTING, POPULATIONThis study will be conducted in National Hospital of Sri Lanka at the premises of number of 12 physiotherapists’ allocated units. According to the availability of physiotherapists gender equity cannot be maintained.
