English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Background  Personality influences an individual’s adaptation to a specific job or organization. Little is known about personality trait differences between medical career and specialty choices  after  graduating from medical school when actually practicing different medical specialties. Moreover, whether personality traits contribute to important career choices such as choosing to work in the private or public sector or with clinical patient contact, as well as change of specialty, have remained largely unexplored. In a nationally representative sample of Finnish physicians ( N  = 2837) we examined how personality traits are associated with medical career choices  after  graduating from medical school, in terms of employment sector, patient contact, medical specialty and change of specialty.    Methods  Personality was assessed using the shortened version of the Big Five Inventory (S-BFI). An analysis of covariance with posthoc tests for pairwise comparisons was conducted, adjusted for gender and age with confounders (employment sector, clinical patient contact and medical specialty).    Results  Higher  openness  was associated with working in the private sector, specializing in psychiatry, changing specialty and not practicing with patients. Lower openness was associated with a high amount of patient contact and specializing in general practice as well as ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology. Higher  conscientiousness  was associated with a high amount of patient contact and specializing in surgery and other internal medicine specialties. Lower conscientiousness was associated with specializing in psychiatry and hospital service specialties. Higher  agreeableness  was associated with working in the private sector and specializing in general practice and occupational health. Lower agreeableness and  neuroticism  were associated with specializing in surgery. Higher  extraversion  was associated with specializing in pediatrics and change of specialty. Lower extraversion was associated with not practicing with patients.    Conclusions  The results showed distinctive personality traits to be associated with physicians’ career and specialty choices  after  medical school independent of known confounding factors. Openness was the most consistent personality trait associated with physicians’ career choices in terms of employment sector, amount of clinical patient contact, specialty choice and change of specialty. Personality-conscious medical career counseling and career guidance during and after medical education might enhance the person-job fit among physicians.

Personality traits and career choices among physicians in Finland: employment sector, clinical patient contact, specialty and change of specialty