Association of Personality Traits and Future Specialty Preference among MBBS Students

Different personality traits may have a significant impact on medical students’ choices on future selection of their future specialty selection. Objectives: To determine the most common personality traits among medical students. Also, to establish if there is any association between traits and future specialty preference. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2024 to December 2024. A validated questionnaire was used and distributed through social media platforms, and quota non-purposive sampling was done. The Big Five Inventory (BFI) was used for personality traits assessment. For demographics and specialty choice, frequencies and percentages were calculated. The chi-square test was used to assess the association between gender and choice of specialty. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to assess the mean comparisons of personality traits with specialty preferences. Post hoc, a Tukey HSD test was done to determine the statistical significance of the association between specialty selection and personality traits. p-value < 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Between gender and specialty selection, a significant association was seen (p=0.033). The personality profiles of medical students showed a higher Mean + SD in the agreeableness profile (3.77 + 0.52). Significant associations with agreeableness and openness traits (p=0.05) were seen with the specialty chosen. Conclusions: The findings offered important perspectives on the relationship between personality traits and specialty selection among medical students. Future studies should build on these ideas, looking into various dynamic influences that affect specialty choice and the significance of personality traits in this regard