Investigation of fear of violence, job satisfaction and turnover intention in physicians

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between physicians' fear of violence, job satisfaction and turnover intention and to reveal the differences according to sociodemographic characteristics. The population of the study consists of physicians working in three hospitals in a province located in the Mediterranean Region. The data obtained from 373 physicians were analyzed. "Fear of Violence Scale", "Job Satisfaction Scale" and "Intention to Quit Scale" were used as data collection tools. As a result of the study, it was determined that fear of violence, job satisfaction and turnover intention differed significantly according to age, institution, medical unit, total years of employment, exposure to violence in professional life, and frequency of physical and verbal violence. As a result of the correlation analysis, a moderate positive relationship was found between fear of violence and intention to quit; a moderate negative relationship was found between job satisfaction and job satisfaction sub-dimensions of external satisfaction and internal satisfaction; a moderate negative relationship was found between intention to quit and job satisfaction, internal satisfaction and external satisfaction; and a statistically significant positive strong relationship was found between job satisfaction and internal satisfaction and external satisfaction. As a result of regression analysis, it was discovered that fear of violence and job satisfaction explained 46.4% of the total variance on turnover intention. Physicians' job satisfaction should be increased and their fear of violence should be eliminated and thus their intention to quit should be reduced. It is recommended to intensify security measures in and around the hospital, improve physical working conditions, expand career development opportunities and meet financial expectations.