[Personality of medical students declaring surgical specialty choice in the context of prospective medical practice style].

INTRODUCTION

Specialty choice made by medical students takes into account the nature of future medical practice. Holland's congruence theory, according to which career choice is treated as an expression of personality characteristics common for all representatives of the same profession, has served as a theoretical background for own research on the subject matter. Spectacular exemplification of fit between mental resources--personality characteristics and working environment requirements, is the concept of distinct surgical personality (DSP), widely discussed in worldwide literature of the subject (although not in native one). The article offers an author's broadened perception of DSP conception encompassing not only personality characteristics, but also values preference.

AIM

The research aims at verifying the hypothesis that a given personality constellation directs the choice of surgery as a prospective specialty made by medical students, as well as allows predicting the style of future vocational practice, characterized by dominant instrumental activities, with little emphasis on affective medical actions, typical for technique-oriented specialties.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study involved a total of 223 students of fourth year of medical studies at Medical University of Lublin. Students declaring their choice of surgical specialty constituted the criterion group (N = 93). The control group comprised of students who declared their choice of person-oriented specialties, aimed at work with patient approached holistically (N = 75), in accordance with dichotomous specialty division adopted for the research purposes. Polish adaptations of NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) by Costa and McCrae and Schwartz Value Survey were applied.

RESULTS

The use of multivariate logistic regression indicates three crucial predictions of surgical specialty choice: 'neuroticism' and 'agreeableness' (personality trials-negative predictors) and 'self-enhancement' (value meta-category - positive predictors), however the latter variable has the strongest impact on the choice. The tested model comprising both personality characteristics and allows proper classification of 85% respondents declaring their surgical choice.

CONCLUSION

Personality constellation of prospective surgical adepts appears to be a coherent and strong predictors of medical practice style characteristic for surgery--with strong biotechnical orientation, and predisposition to building paternalistic relations with patients in interpersonal layer. The personality of surgeons-to-be corresponds with functional requirements of surgical treatment, nevertheless their readiness to adequate reaction on non-medical patients' needs requires designing educational process so that it activates values complementary to 'power' and 'achievement', mainly 'universalism', viewed as perceiving others as equal to self.