Thriving in Medical Practice

In the mid-2000s, the construct of workplace engagement had been visible in the literature for

over a decade, with no consensus on its measurement. The benefits of increasing engagement

were consistently reported however measures were developed and used across different

contexts, with potential underlying differences due to context remaining unaddressed. The

first aim of this thesis was to investigate existing engagement measures and their comparative

relevance across two contexts: business and medical. The medical context was chosen for

detailed investigation because of the importance of engagement-related factors such as

burnout in medical professions, and because of the lack of empirical research on engagement

in this context. The second aim of the thesis was to develop an engagement measure

specifically for use in medical settings. The third aim of the thesis was to explore the

relationships between engagement and related constructs of interest in the literature.

In the first, Pilot Study 1, items said to measure engagement were identified. In Study

2, the measures were tested for their perceived relevance to engagement with 217 business

and 192 medical respondents. Results demonstrate engagement may be differentially viewed

and defined in these contexts. In Study 3, data were drawn from public hospitals across New

South Wales, Australia, from 392 nurses and 154 doctors. The first known measure for

engagement in medical contexts was developed, a higher order construct including job

satisfaction, dedication and focused time use, consistent with a consensus on engagement

occurring later in the literature. A path model was developed assessing related constructs not

found in other engagement models, climate, empowerment, intrinsic motivation and

emotional exhaustion. The model consolidates findings and provides further evidence of

differences in the way engagement operates in business and medical contexts. Engagement in

medical contexts is an important aspect of current research due to a global healthcare crisis.