Abstract
Objective
To evaluate physician relationships from the perspective of their spouses/partners.
Methods
Nearly all data on satisfaction with physician relationships come from the perspective
of the physician rather than their spouse/partner. We conducted a national study of
the spouses/partners of US physicians from August 17, 2011, through September 12,
2011. Responding spouses/partners provided information on demographic characteristics,
their own work life, and the work life of their physician partners. Spouses/partners
also rated relationship satisfaction and the effect of the work life of their physician
partner on the relationship.
Results
Of the 1644 spouses/partners of physicians surveyed, 891 (54.2%) responded. Most spouses/partners
(86.8%) reported that they were satisfied with their relationship with their physician
partner. Satisfaction strongly related to the amount of time spent awake with their
physician partners each day. Despite their overall satisfaction, spouses/partners
reported their physician partners frequently came home irritable, too tired to engage
in home activities, or preoccupied with work. On multivariate analysis, minutes spent
awake with their physician partners each day was the strongest predictor of relationship
satisfaction, exhibiting a dose-response effect. No professional characteristic of
the physician partners (eg, hours worked per week, specialty area, and practice setting)
other than the number of nights on call per week correlated with relationship satisfaction
on adjusted analysis.
Conclusion
The spouses/partners of US physicians report generally high satisfaction with their
relationships. The mean time spent with their physician partners each day appears
to be a dominant factor associated with relationship satisfaction and overshadows
any specific professional characteristic of the physicians' practice, including specialty
area, practice setting, and work hours.
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
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Article Info
Footnotes
See editorial comment, page 213
Grant Support: Funding for this study was provided by the American Medical Association and the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program on Physician Well-being .
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
