Table 3.
Satisfaction Questionnaire Items by Sociodemographic and Professional Variables
| Baseline Variable | Satisfaction Questionnaire Itema | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | |
| Gender | P=0.008 | P=0.002 | |||||||
| Female (N=54) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 9.0 (8.0–9.8) | 6.0 (3.2–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.2–7.8) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 40 (74.1) |
| Male (N=219) | 9.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 165 (75.3) |
| Marital status | |||||||||
| Single (N=19) | 7.0 (5.5–8.0) | 7.0 (6.0–7.5) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (6.0–7.5) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.5–8.0) | 7.0 (6.8–8.2) | 14 (73.7) |
| Married (N=255) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 9.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 192 (75.3) |
| Spouse employment status | P=0.004 | P=0.006 | P=0.050 | ||||||
| Employed, full-time (N=103) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.5–8.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.5 (5.0–9.0) | 76 (73.8) |
| Employed, part-time (N=45) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 34 (75.6) |
| Not employed (N=104) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 9.0 (7.0–10.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.5–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.5) | 5.0 (3.2–8.0) | 81 (77.9) |
| Parent | P=0.046 | P=0.03 | |||||||
| Yes (N=232) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.5 (3.0–8.0) | 180 (77.6) |
| No (N=42) | 7.0 (4.2–8.8) | 7.0 (5.0–7.8) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.5 (5.2–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 26 (61.9) |
| Specialty | P=0.04 | P=0.03 | |||||||
| Anesthesiology (N=225) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 166 (73.8) |
| PM&R (N=38) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (7.0–8.8) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–10.0) | 8.0 (5.2–10.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 6.5 (4.0–8.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 33 (86.8) |
| Geographic location | P=0.049 | ||||||||
| Northeast (N=66) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 9.0 (8.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.8) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.5 (4.0–8.0) | 47 (71.2) |
| Southeast (N=71) | 8.0 (5.5–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.5–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 5.0 (3.0–9.0) | 55 (77.5) |
| Midwest (N=70) | 7.0 (5.2–8.8) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 52 (74.3) |
| Northwest (N=22) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.2–8.0) | 8.0 (6.2–9.0) | 7.5 (5.0–9.0) | 7.5 (5.2–9.0) | 8.5 (7.0–9.0) | 6.5 (4.2–8.0) | 6.0 (3.0–7.5) | 20 (90.9) |
| Southwest (N=44) | 7.0 (5.0–10.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.2) | 7.5 (5.0–8.0) | 9.0 (8.0–10.0) | 7.0 (4.8–8.0) | 8.0 (5.8–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (3.8–8.2) | 32 (72.7) |
| Years in practice | P=0.001 | ||||||||
| 1–5 (N=46) | 8.0 (5.2–9.0) | 7.0 (5.2–8.0) | 7.5 (6.0–8.8) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.5 (4.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.2–8.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 36 (78.3) |
| 6–10 (N=65) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 9.0 (8.0–10.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.2) | 52 (80.0) |
| 11–15 (N=49) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–10.0) | 7.0 (4.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 6.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 34 (69.4) |
| 16–20 (N=35) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–7.5) | 7.0 (4.0–8.5) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.5) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (3.0–8.0) | 5.5 (3.0–8.0) | 23 (65.7) |
| >20 (N=80) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.8–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.0 (3.2–8.0) | 61 (76.2) |
| Practice setting | P=0.009 | P<0.001 | P=0.004 | ||||||
| Private practice-partner (N=74) | 7.0 (5.2–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–10.0) | 8.0 (7.0–10.0) | 8.5 (6.0–9.8) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 57 (77.0) |
| Private practice-employee (N=69) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.8–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 51 (73.9) |
| Private practice-solo (N=39) | 7.0 (3.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.5) | 9.0 (7.0–9.0) | 9.0 (7.0–10.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–9.0) | 23 (59.0) |
| Academic medical center (N=71) | 8.0 (5.5–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–7.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 6.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (3.8–8.0) | 55 (77.5) |
| Most common insurance payer | P=0.02 | P=0.008 | |||||||
| Commercial (N=91) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.5–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 65 (71.4) |
| Medicare (N=109) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 82 (75.2) |
| No. of patients in clinic day | P=0.04 | P=0.007 | P<0.001 | ||||||
| 0–10 (N=30) | 7.0 (3.5–9.8) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.0–9.0) | 5.0 (3.2–7.0) | 7.5 (5.2–9.0) | 6.0 (5.0–7.8) | 5.0 (2.0–7.0) | 20 (66.7) |
| 11–20 (N=102) | 7.5 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | 79 (77.5) |
| 21–30 (N=92) | 8.0 (5.0–8.2) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 9.0 (8.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (5.8–9.0) | 6.0 (4.8–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 66 (71.7) |
| 31–40 (N=34) | 8.0 (7.0–9.8) | 7.0 (7.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.2–9.8) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–10.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 5.0 (3.0–8.0) | 29 (85.3) |
| >40 (N=17) | 7.0 (7.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–10.0) | 9.0 (7.0–10.0) | 9.0 (8.0–10.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 3.0 (1.5–6.5) | 12 (70.6) |
| No. of patients in procedure day | |||||||||
| 0–10 (N=56) | 7.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.5) | 6.0 (4.0–8.2) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.2) | 6.0 (3.0–8.0) | 37 (66.1) |
| 11–20 (N=123) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 6.0 (4.2–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–8.0) | 99 (80.5) |
| 21–30 (N=72) | 8.0 (5.8–9.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 9.0 (8.0–9.2) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 7.0 (5.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.0–9.0) | 53 (73.6) |
| 31–40 (N=18) | 8.0 (6.2–8.0) | 7.0 (6.0–8.8) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | 8.5 (8.0–9.0) | 8.0 (5.0–9.0) | 8.0 (6.0–9.0) | 5.5 (4.0–8.0) | 7.0 (4.5–9.0) | 13 (72.2) |
| >40 (N=6) | 7.5 (3.2–8.8) | 8.0 (2.5–9.8) | 6.5 (2.5–9.8) | 7.0 (7.0–7.8) | 5.0 (2.8–8.8) | 6.5 (3.8–7.8) | 3.5 (2.2–5.5) | 3.0 (2.0–7.0) | 4 (66.7) |
Notes: aAbbreviations Q1 through Q9 refer to the following questionnaire items: Q1: How likely would you be to recommend pain medicine as a career? Q2: How satisfied are you with your income? Q3: How secure do you feel about your job? Q4: How much continuity of care do you have with your patients? Q5: How much control do you have over the way your practice is run? Q6: How much of an impact do you feel, your work has? Q7: How satisfied are you with your work-life balance? Q8: Please rate the level of burnout you have experienced in the past 5 years, Q9: Would you choose pain medicine as a specialty again? Median and 25th to 75th percentile interquartile range are provided for items Q1 through Q8. Item Q9 is presented as frequency (percentage). Item Q9 used a binary response (yes/no), and percentages represent respondents who answered that they would choose pain medicine as a specialty again. Differences in responses based on sociodemographic variables and professional variables were assessed with the Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test for Likert scale questions and with the Pearson χ2 test for yes/no questions.
Abbreviation: PM&R, physical medicine and rehabilitation.