Abstract
BackgroundThe most crucial decision in the physician’s career after graduation is undoubtedly the choice of specialization. It is conditioned by many factors such as intellectual challenges, clinical experience, economic and social influences. The aim of this study was to determine whether personality traits affect the choice of medical specialty at the University of Osijek, Croatia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included a total of 407 medical students. To assess the personality traits, the IPIP Big-Five questionnaire was used.ResultsThere were no differences in four of the five personality traits of the Big-Five questionnaire when comparing the groups based on their specialty preference: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. A significant difference was found for openness to experience (intellect/imagination) trait, where students who preferred psychiatry specialties achieved the highest score, and those who chose public health specialties scored the lowest. We observed no significant effect between gender and specialty preference based on personality traits.ConclusionsWe could not attribute the differences in personality traits to specialty preference. Medical students with higher scores on agreeableness and openness (intellect/imagination) scales were more inclined to psychiatric specialties, and more conscientiousness students preferred the anesthesiology and emergency medicine specialties. Even if variations in personality traits do not exist across different specialties, many other factors influence specialty preference.
Highlights
The most crucial decision in the physician’s career after graduation is undoubtedly the choice of specialization
The present study aimed to investigate whether personality traits affect the choice of medical specialty
Psychiatrists scored higher on extraversion in other studies [10, 11], here we found that students who choose psychiatry specialties had lower extraversion score together with students who choose internal medicine, public health, and anesthesiology and emergency medicine specialties
Summary
The most crucial decision in the physician’s career after graduation is undoubtedly the choice of specialization It is conditioned by many factors such as intellectual challenges, clinical experience, economic and social influences. Other factors which contribute to choosing a specific medical specialty are gender, economic status, In European countries, including Croatia, there is a growing interest in specializations with the possibility to control one’s lifestyle. This group of specialties includes dermatology, psychiatry, radiology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, neurology, and pathology. Gender significantly contributes to motives for specialty preferences [8, 9]
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