Organizational environment and perceptions of teaching quality in seven South Carolina family medicine residency programs

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the relationship between organizational environment and teaching quality in seven family medicine residency programs.

Method: In 1995, a questionnaire on organizational environment was administered to the faculties at all seven family medicine residency programs in South Carolina. Eighty-seven percent of the faculty members participated, as did convenience samples of residents, nurses, and administrative staff. The questionnaire measured seven variables: teaching quality, job satisfaction, organizational climate, employees' autonomy, goal attainment, organizational commitment, and job-related stress.

Results: Residents, nurses, and administrative staff who were connected to programs at which faculty expressed high levels of job satisfaction assessed teaching quality as higher than did those at other programs. The residents' perceptions of teaching quality were positively correlated with high ratings of organizational climate and job-related stress. The staffs' ratings of goal attainment were also associated with teaching quality. Faculty satisfaction was associated with their reported employee autonomy and goal attainment.

Conclusion: The organizational characteristics of family medicine residency programs significantly influence the perceptions of teaching quality: specifically, there perceptions are correlated with the degree to which faculty are satisfied with their work environments. In addition, residents' and staffs' perceptions of teaching quality are associated with their attitudes toward their organizations' environments.