Abstract:

The purpose of this study, which set out the question of why physicians should or should not become managers, is to examine the relationships between motivational needs (achievement and power) and professional performance of the physicians. The research model developed in the framework of McClelland’s theory of needs was tested on a sample of 93 specialist physicians who have been working in Trabzon and Gümüşhane cities. Results indicated that the physicians had a high level of professional performance, a high level of need for achievement and a lower level of need for power. According to analysis results, while need for achievement had a positive effect on the professional performance, relationships obtained for need for power were insignificant or negative. As for the fear (failure and power), it had a negative effect on the professional performance. Meanwhile, the need for power was not included in the model that best explained the professional performance. Findings for control variables in this model also demonstrated that age and the province (Gümüşhane) had negative and working duration in the same hospital had positive effects on the professional performance.

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