Browsing by Author "Mackenzie, Annabel"
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- ItemJob satisfaction of South African registered dietitians(Medpharm Publications, 2012) Visser, Janicke; Mackenzie, Annabel; Marais, DebbiObjectives: The aim of this study was to determine the overall level of job satisfaction among South African registered dietitians and possible relationships between the influencing factors. Design: The design was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting and subjects: A national survey was carried out among all dietitians registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, excluding community service dietitians. Outcome measures: A two-part, self-administered, adapted job satisfaction survey questionnaire was used. Demographic data were collected. The questionnaire covered nine themes pertaining to job satisfaction: salary, promotion, knowledge and skills, professional colleagues, being a member of the multidisciplinary team, communication, the work environment, rewards of the job and nature of the work. Results: A final response rate of 22.5% (n = 340) was obtained. South African registered dietitians were only slightly satisfied (65.7%) with their current employment. There was no significant difference (p-value = 0.291) pertaining to overall job satisfaction between those working and living overseas and those working and living in South Africa. Primarily, lower levels of satisfaction were observed to be due to poor salaries, lack of promotion opportunities and a poor perception of professional image. Significant positive correlations were found between age (p-value = 0.036), professional experience (p-value = 0.035), area of expertise (p-value = 0.001), hours of work (p-value = 0.021) and location of work (p-value = 0.00001). Conclusion: Although overall job satisfaction scores indicated that South African registered dietitians are only slightly satisfied with their employment, registered dietitians reported that they love the nature of the work and what they do, tending towards confirmation of career satisfaction. Recommendations include re-evaluation of registered dietitian salary scales, career pathing with promotion opportunities, boosting the professional image and expanding the teaching of nondietetic skills to dietetic undergraduates.
- ItemJob satisfaction of South African registered dietitians(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008-12) Mackenzie, Annabel; Marais, D.; Visser, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Health Sciences. Dept. of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. Human Nutrition.Job satisfaction of registered dietitians (RDs) is a very poorly researched subject on a global scale. Apart from a handful of studies conducted in the United States of America (USA) from the 1980’s through to the early 1990’s and only one recently published in 2006, there is no other published information relating to this topic. As a result a crosssectional descriptive study was conducted using a national survey of all 1509 dietitians registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Data was collected using a 2 part self-administered questionnaire, the first part collected demographic data and the second part collected data pertaining to job satisfaction attitude. The job satisfaction questionnaire was based on the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), measuring nine themes of: salary, promotion, knowledge and skills, professional colleagues, members of the multi-disciplinary team, communication, the work environment, rewards of the job and nature of work. Based on the registration contact details of RDs, the questionnaires were distributed by either e-mail or post, giving a final response rate of 22,5% (n=340), representing over a fifth of the dietetic workforce registered with the HPCSA. Overall the data indicated that South African RDs were only slightly satisfied (65,7%) with their current employment, with no significant ifference in overall job satisfaction between those working and living overseas (68,4%)(n=23) and those in South Africa (65,7%)(n=317). Despite there being a positive attitude towards the nature of work (tending towards confirmation of career satisfaction), lower levels of satisfaction were primarily found to be due to poor salaries, lack of promotional opportunities and a perception of low professional image. No extreme levels of satisfaction were found. In regard to associations between demographic variables and job satisfaction, a significant positive correlation was found to occur between age (Spearman’s p=0,036), professional experience (Mann-Whitney U p=0,035), area of expertise (Mann-Whitney U p=0,001), hours of work (Kruskal-Wallis p=0,021) and the location of work (rural versus urban based work) (Mann-Whitney U p=0,00001). Therefore it is predicted that over the next five years, there will be poor staff retention of RDs in dietetic posts, where the greatest loss will be in the Department of Health (DOH), where approximately 83% of current DOH staff (n=113) will be searching for alternative employment. Recommendations therefore include that there should be a re-evaluation of RD pay scales, career-pathing with promotional opportunities, boosting the RD professional image and enhancing dietetic undergraduates programs by including the teaching of nondietetic skills such a business skills and entrepreneurship, required to support dietetic practice on a broader scale.