Personality characteristics of women entering medical school over a 10-year period.
Personality characteristics of entering women medical students, as determined by their responses to the Omnibus Personality Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, are similar over the past decade. These women, as in the past, are independent, socially outgoing, sensitive, concerned about others, optimistic, well adjusted, and active and possess a positive self-image. Changing societal attitudes toward women's roles and the increased numbers of women admitted to medical school have not resulted in more diversity of personality types among women students. Rather they have opened the door to larger numbers of women with personalities similar to those of women entering a decade ago. Reasons for the difficulties that women students express today in finding role models among their faculty are suggested.
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000523:psychology*; D012577:Schools, Medical