title: Temperament traits and preference for surgical or nonsurgical specialties in year 6 medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Personality traits may also be associated with preference for a particular specialty. However, little is known about the relationship between the surgical career preferences of medical students and their temperament traits.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between surgical or nonsurgical specialties and temperament in 6th-year medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 409 students (283 women, 126 men) of the 6th year at the Medical University of Lodz. The subjects fulfilled a career preference and demographic questionnaire as well as the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory by Zawadzki and Stelau.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The surgical specialty was preferred by 30.1% of the students and by 64.5% of the nonsurgical; 5.4% were undecided. The specialty preference of the medical students was associated with temperament traits. An analysis of variance showed differences in Emotional Reactivity, F(1, 380)=3.888, p=049, η2=01; Endurance, F(1, 380)=10.973, p=001, η2=028; and Briskness, F(1, 380)=10.252, p=001, η2=026. Students preferring surgical specialty scored significantly higher on Endurance (M=11.21, SD=4.8) and Briskness (M=16.54, SD=2.82) scales than students choosing a nonsurgical specialty (M=9.12, SD=4.51) and (M=15.19, SD=3.21), respectively. Those preferring a surgical specialty scored lower on the Emotional Reactivity (M=8.91, SD=4.55) scale than students choosing nonsurgical specialty (M=10.53, SD=4.22).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that certain temperament traits may be related to preference of surgical or nonsurgical specialties. This knowledge of temperament traits could be a useful tool in helping graduates choose a fulfilling career best suited to their psychological well-being and diagnosing work related issues in the medical profession.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Affective and Psychotic Disorders , Medical University of Lodz , Lodz , Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pawełczyk
authors.forename: Magdalena Zofia
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Kotlicka-Antczak
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chmielińska
authors.forename: Tomasz Paweł
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Pawełczyk
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rabe-Jabłońska
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012737:Sex Factors; D013038:Specialization; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: medical specialty preference; medical students; personality; surgical specialty; temperament