From the front lines: a qualitative study of anesthesiologists’ work and professional values

Abstract

Purpose Despite significant contributions to medicine, anesthesiology is poorly recognized and faces the threat of ''deprofessionalization''. Clear articulation of its work and professional values plays an integral role in maintaining the viability of a profession. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore anesthesiologists' perspectives in order to define the distinct elements of their work and their professional values. Methods A qualitative research approach was used for this study. Sixteen Canadian faculty anesthesiologists were interviewed regarding their choice of anesthesiology as a career, the characteristics of a good anesthesiologist and good anesthetic care, and the sources of work-related stress. The interviews were taped and transcribed. The qualitative analysis of the interviews included primary coding, which separated the data into units of meaning. Next, similar codes were clustered into pattern codes to identify common themes and subthemes. The relationships between the themes and subthemes were analyzed and interpreted to identify core values. Results The anesthesiologists were motivated to choose their career path by the academic, technical, and practice aspects of the profession, influential role models, and an interest in human consciousness. Five themes characterized a good anesthesiologist: clinical competence, personality traits, physician-patient relationship, approach to anesthetic care, and outcomes. The major sources of stress were: balancing clinical care and teaching, unexpected critical events, and administrative issues. Four core professional values were identified: goal-directed care, responsibility, control, and humility. Conclusions Anesthesiology is characterized by its distinct work and core professional values. Under the threat of deprofessionalization, the practice of anesthesiology should be guided by its professional values in defining and envisioning its future. RésuméObjectif Malgre´ses contributions remarquables a`la me´decine, l'anesthe´siologie est mal reconnue et fait face a`la menace d'une «de´professionnalisation». Pour assurer la viabilite´d'une profession, il faut qu'elle soit en mesure d'articuler clairement son travail et ses valeurs professionnelles. L'objectif de cette e´tude qualitative e´tait d'examiner les points de vue des anesthe´siologistes afin de de´terminer quels sont les e´le´ments distinctifs de leur travail ainsi que leurs valeurs professionnelles. Méthode Une approche de recherche qualitative a e´te´utilise´e pour cette e´tude. Seize anesthe´siologistes universitaires canadiens ont e´te´interroge´s concernant leur choix d'une carrie`re en anesthe´siologie, les caracte´ristiques d'un bon anesthe´siologiste et de bons soins en anesthe´siologie, ainsi que les sources de stress lie´au travail. Les entretiens ont e´te´enregistre´s puis retranscrits. L'analyse qualitative des entretiens comprenait un encodage primaire, lequel se´parait les donne´es en unite´s se´mantiques. Ensuite, les codes similaires ont e´teḿ is en grappes en code...

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