Journal of Surgical Education
Volume 67, Issue 6 , Pages 359-370 , November 2010

A Psychological Profile of Surgeons and Surgical Residents

  • Kevin N. Foster, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, Maricopa Integrated Health Systems, Phoenix, Arizona
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence: Inquiries to Kevin N. Foster, MD, The Arizona Burn & Trauma Centers, 2601 E. Roosevelt, Phoenix, AZ 85008; fax: (602) 344-5705
    • ,
  • Gregory P.M. Neidert, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
    • ,
  • Ruth Brubaker-Rimmer, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, Maricopa Integrated Health Systems, Phoenix, Arizona
    • ,
  • Diana Artalejo, BA

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
    • ,
  • Daniel M. Caruso, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, Maricopa Integrated Health Systems, Phoenix, Arizona

References 

  1. Yeo H, Viola K, Berg D, et al. Attitudes, training experiences, and professional expectations of US general surgery residents: a national survey. JAMA. 2009;302:1301–1308
  2. Neumayer L, Kaiser S, Anderson K, et al. Perceptions of women medical students and their influence on career choice. Am J Surg. 2002;183:146–150
  3. Bell RH, Banker MB, Rhodes RS, Biester TW, Lewis FR. Graduate medical education in surgery in the United States. Surg Clin North Am. 2007;87:811–823v-vi
  4. Longo WE. Attrition: our biggest continuing challenge. Am J Surg. 2007;194:567–575
  5. Cochran A, Melby S, Foy HM, Wallack MK, Neumayer LA. The state of general surgery residency in the United States: program director perspectives. Arch Surg. 2001;137:1262–1265
  6. Everett CB, Helmer SD, Osland JS, Smith RS. General surgery resident attrition and the 80-hour workweek. Am J Surg. 2007;194:751–756Discussion:6-7
  7. Kwakwa F, Jonasson O. Attrition in graduate surgical education: an analysis of the 1993 entering cohort of surgical residents. J Am Coll Surg. 1999;189:602–610
  8. Leibrandt TJ, Pezzi CM, Fassler SA, Reilly EF, Morris JB. Has the 80-hour work week had an impact on voluntary attrition in general surgery residency programs?. J Am Coll Surg. 2006;202:340–344
  9. Leibrandt TJ, Mehall JR, Rhodes RS, Morris JB. How do general surgery replacement residents match up with those recruited through the National Resident Matching Program?. Am J Surg. 2004;187:702–704
  10. Eva KW, Reiter HI. Where judgement fails: pitfalls in the selection process for medical personnel. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2004;9:161–174
  11. Andriole DA, Jeffe DB, Whelan AJ. What predicts surgical internship performance?. Am J Surg. 2004;188:161–164
  12. Papp KK, Polk HC, Richardson JD. The relationship between criteria used to select residents and performance during residency. Am J Surg. 1997;173:326–329
  13. Naylor RA, Reisch JS, Valentine RJ. Factors related to attrition in surgery residency based on application data. Arch Surg. 2008;143:647–651Discussion:51-52
  14. In:  Maddox T editors. Tests: A Comprehensive Reference For Assessments In Psychology, Education, and Business. 6th ed.. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed; 2008;
  15. Neidert GPMN & Ortman NL. Interpretation Manual for the World of Work Inventory. 5th ed.. Tempe, AZ: World of Work, Inc; 2001;
  16. Bore M, Munro D, Powis D. A comprehensive model for the selection of medical students. Med Teach. 2009;31:1066–1072
  17. James D, Ferguson E, Powis D, et al. Graduate entry to medicine: widening psychological diversity. BMC Med Educ. 2009;9:67
  18. Borges N, Savickas ML. Personality and medical specialty choice: a literature review and integration. J Career Assess. 2002;10:362–380
  19. Buddeberg-Fischer B, Klaghofer R, Abel T, Buddeberg C. Swiss residents' speciality choices—impact of gender, personality traits, career motivation and life goals. BMC Health Serv Res. 2006;6:137
  20. Neral SM, Collins J, Gandy MJ, Hampton HL, Morrison JC. Non-cognitive variables and residency choice. J Miss State Med Assoc. 2008;49:327–329
  21. O'Neill PN, Svec TA, Ludington JR, Suchina JA. Personality traits of endodontic residents indicate potential for becoming endodontic faculty. J Endod. 2007;33:427–431
  22. Hojat M, Nasca TJ, Magee M, et al. A comparison of the personality profiles of internal medicine residents, physician role models, and the general population. Acad Med. 1999;74:1327–1333
  23. Hojat M, Glaser K, Xu G, Veloski JJ, Christian EB. Gender comparisons of medical students' psychosocial profiles. Med Educ. 1999;33:342–349
  24. Reich DL, Uysal S, Bodian CA, et al. The relationship of cognitive, personality, and academic measures to anesthesiology resident clinical performance. Anesth Analg. 1999;88:1092–1100
  25. Quintero AJ, Segal LS, King TS, Black KP. The personal interview: assessing the potential for personality similarity to bias the selection of orthopaedic residents. Acad Med. 2009;84:1364–1372
  26. Eng MK, Macneily AE, Alden L. The urological personality: is it unique?. Can J Urol. 2004;11:2401–2406
  27. Greenburg AG, McClure DK, Penn NE. Personality traits of surgical house officers: faculty and resident views. Surgery. 1982;92:368–372
  28. Schwartz RW, Barclay JR, Harrell PL, et al. Defining the surgical personality: a preliminary study. Surgery. 1994;115:62–68
  29. Linn BS, Zeppa R. Does surgery attract students who are more resistant to stress?. Ann Surg. 1984;200:638–643
  30. Bartnick LW, Kappelman MM, Berger JH, Sigman B. The value of the California Psychological Inventory in predicting medical students' career choice. Med Educ. 1985;19:143–147
  31. Gilligan JH, Welsh FK, Watts C, Treasure T. Square pegs in round holes: has psychometric testing a place in choosing a surgical career? (A preliminary report of work in progress). Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1999;81:73–79
  32. McGreevy J, Wiebe D. A preliminary measurement of the surgical personality. Am J Surg. 2002;184:121–125
  33. Merlo LJ, Matveevski AS. Personality testing may improve resident selection in anesthesiology programs. Med Teach. 2009;31:e551–e554

PII: S1931-7204(10)00187-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2010.07.007

Journal of Surgical Education
Volume 67, Issue 6 , Pages 359-370 , November 2010

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution