A preliminary measurement of the surgical personality.
BACKGROUND
We used the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Psychological Resources, Inc.) to test for a distinct surgical personality.


METHODS
The NEO-PI-R is a compilation of 240 statements. Subjects agree or disagree with the statements, generating a score in five personality traits according to the five factor theory: neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), openness (O), agreeableness (A), and conscientiousness (C). Each score is compared with that for the general population.


RESULTS
Twenty-four male and 15 female surgical residents voluntarily took the inventory. Compared to the general population, males scored lower in N (p <0.05), higher in E (P <0.001), O (P <0.05) and C (p <0.001), and average in A (no significant difference). Females scored average in N and A (no significant difference), and higher in E (p <0.001), O (P <0.05), and C (P <0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The similarity of trait variance from the general population in both male and female surgical residents supports the concept of a surgical personality.
McGreevy
James
J
Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
Wiebe
Deborah
D
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012107:Research Design; D012737:Sex Factors; D000078329:Workforce