The following is a summary of “Job description and perception of clinical research personnel working in a network of French intensive care units,”published in the April 2024 issue of Critical Care by Adda et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to characterize personnel organization, job satisfaction, and stress levels within a clinical research network and identify improvement opportunities.
They were surveyed over three months in 2023, receiving an electronic questionnaire encompassing their personal and professional backgrounds, previous and ongoing training, current roles and responsibilities, familiarity with job-related skills, job satisfaction, stress levels measured on a rating scale, and recommendations for enhancement.
The results showed 97 individuals completed the questionnaire (yielding a response rate of 71.3%), with 78 (constituting 57.3%) sufficiently involved in intensive care to provide comprehensive responses. The core sample aligned with French recruitment policies, primarily Bachelor/Master graduates, with nurses representing only 21.8%. The gender ratio was 77 females to 23 males. Many respondents reported shared roles as technicians (for investigation) and assistants (for quality control). Over 70% of respondents perceived most tasks as significant. Project managers had notably lower participation in the survey. On a scale of 10, median job satisfaction was 7 for personal work organization, 6 for training and institutional organization, and only 5 for personal career management. Median job stress was 5, inversely linked to satisfaction with career management. Suggestions for enhancing employee satisfaction included respecting autonomy, promoting shared activities between investigation and quality control, facilitating career advancement, providing financial incentives for demanding tasks, and involving employees in unit staff meetings.
These findings, while highlighting areas for improvement, also offer fresh perspectives on French clinical research personnel activities. This insight can inform strategies to enhance workforce quality and efficiency, fostering a more positive and productive work environment.
Source: ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-024-04900-8
