Personality assessments and outcomes in medical education and the practice of medicine: AMEE Guide No. 79

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Practice points

Cognitive (e.g. intellectual abilities) as well as noncognitive (e.g. personality) factors contribute to academic and professional performances. The contribution of personality attributes to performance assessments is greater in the clinical than preclinical phase of medical education and can be explained by the trait-activation theory. There is inadequate evidence supporting the validity and reliability of approaches such as admission interviews, letters of recommendation, essays, and personal statements to assess the personality of applicants to medical school or residency programs. There are plausible explanations (conceptual and methodological) for the modest correlations observed between measures of personality attributes on the one hand and educational and clinical outcomes on the other hand that provide grounds for optimism concerning the use of personality assessments in medical education. Based on the conceptual relevance and currently available empirical evidence, we propose that measures of two personality attributes, “conscientiousness” and “empathy,” be considered in predicting educational and clinical outcomes, in career counseling, in assessments of educational outcomes, as well as potential “tie-breakers” for admission decisions among candidates with similar academic qualifications. The search for additional personality attributes pertinent to medical education and the practice of medicine should be a priority in the research agenda for medical education. Lingering doubts about the role of personality in the performance of physicians-in-training and in-practice results in a futile and never-ending search for additional evidence, which would be counterproductive, because waiting for certainty is waiting for eternity.

Figure 1. Taxonomy of physician performance*. *Adapted from Gonnella et al. (1993). Three examples are presented in each cell.

Table 1.  Selected personality instruments used in medical education research

Most frequently used

1. Measurement of the Five Factors of Personality (NEO PI-R)

2. The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)

3. The California Psychological Inventory (CPI)

4. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

5. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE)

Other selected instruments

6. The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)

7. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

8. The Profile of Moods State (POMS)

9. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)

10. The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA)

11. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)

12. The Medical Specialty Preference Inventory (MSPI)

13. The Jefferson Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration

14. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning

Gonnella JS, Hojat M, Erdmann JB, Veloski JJ. What have we learned, and where do we go from here?. Assessment measures in medical school, residency, and practice: The connections, JS Gonnella, M Hojat, JB Erdmann, JJ Veloski. Springer, New York 1993; 155–173, Also published in Academic Medicine, 68 (February 1993 Supplement 2), 68, s79–s87

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