Satisfaction with Work-Life Balance in the Medical Profession: A Review of the Literature

Achieving satisfaction with work-life balance can be challenging as a member of the medical profession. As a future medical student, I sought to gain knowledge on the variables that influence a physician’s satisfaction with work-life balance. PubMed, PsychINFO, and CINAHL were systematically searched for articles from the United States published in the last five years relevant to this topic. Articles were excluded if they studied physicians outside of the United States, studied a physician’s spouse, or if the participants were physician’s assistants or nurses. Physicians and residents experience diverse levels of satisfaction with work-life balance. In comparison to individuals in the work force as a whole, physicians were less likely to be satisfied with work-life balance. The sixteen articles included in this review identified age, gender, marital status, number of children, career stage, work hours, and specialty as contributors to satisfaction with work-life balance. Two categories of interventions are recommended to increase satisfaction with work-life balance: personal and administrative. Self-awareness, goal identification, and development of management skills are a few of the ways that a physician may increase satisfaction with work-life balance.<p></p>