Healthcare professionals’ evaluation of interprofessional teamwork and job satisfaction / Evaluation der Teamarbeit und der Arbeitszufriedenheit von Gesundheitsfachberufen

Interprofessional teamwork among healthcare professionals in healthcare organizations is a key factor for both their job satisfaction and patients’ effective and efficient treatment. One precondition for successful interprofessional teamwork is a shared mental model (a common cognitive frame of reference and knowledge) of working together as a team. However, there often exist subcultures, and each of these has its own mental model of teamwork. Hence, it can be assumed that different healthcare professional groups do not share the evaluation of their interprofessional teamwork and job satisfaction (Hypothesis 1). Additionally, based on the input-process-output model of team effectiveness, it can be expected that interprofessional teamwork determines job satisfaction (Hypothesis 2). These hypotheses were tested in a survey of 272 employees in 15 rehabilitation clinics in Germany. Results showed that healthcare professionals’ evaluation of their interprofessional teamwork (F(3, 203) = 9.118, p < 0.001, η² = 0.119) as well as their job satisfaction (F(3, 210) = 3.357, p = 0.02, η² = 0.046) differed significantly. Physicians reported the highest level of interprofessional teamwork and job satisfaction compared with other groups. Perceptions of interprofessional teamwork explain approximately 20% of the variance in job satisfaction. Thus, both hypotheses were confirmed. Interprofessional interventions in education and practice are recommended to establish a shared mental model, which could improve teamwork and subsequently job satisfaction.