Articles
| Open Access |
https://doi.org/10.37547/ijmsphr/Volume07Issue05-17
Temperament as A Predictor of Medical Specialty Choice Among Senior-Year Students
Abstract
The choice of clinical specialty by senior (5th–6th year) medical students is one of the pivotal career decisions shaping a physician's professional trajectory, job satisfaction, and burnout risk. Alongside academic performance, prestige, income, and clinical-rotation experience, stable individual psychological characteristics — temperament in particular — are receiving growing research attention. To synthesise current views on the role of temperament in medical specialty choice and to propose a conceptual model mapping temperament profiles onto groups of medical specialties for senior-year students.
A theoretical-analytical literature review of classical temperament typologies, Cloninger's psychobiological model of temperament and character (TCI), and empirical studies on the association of personality traits with specialty choice in medical students and residents. Classical temperament types can be operationalised through measurable neurodynamic dimensions (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, persistence). A four-component model is proposed linking temperament profiles to broad specialty clusters: high-activity/impulsive profiles gravitate toward surgery and emergency medicine; stable-persistent profiles toward diagnostic and laboratory disciplines; sociable-affiliative profiles toward primary care; and sensitive-reflective profiles toward psychiatry and care of vulnerable populations. Temperament is a meaningful but non-deterministic factor in specialty choice. Incorporating it into career guidance for graduates may improve person–profession congruence, job satisfaction, and reduce burnout.
Keywords
Temperament, specialty choice, medical students
References
Cloninger C. R., Svrakic D. M., Przybeck T. R. A psychobiological model of temperament and character // Archives of General Psychiatry. 1993. Vol. 50, No. 12. P. 975–990.
Vaidya N. A., Sierles F. S., Raida M. D., et al. Relationship between specialty choice and medical student temperament and character assessed with Cloninger Inventory // Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 2004. Vol. 16, No. 2. P. 150–156.
Sievert M., Zwir I., Cloninger K. M., et al. The influence of temperament and character profiles on specialty choice and well-being in medical residents // PeerJ. 2016. Vol. 4. e2319. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2319.
Eley D. S., Young L., Przybeck T. R. Exploring temperament and character traits in medical students; a new approach to increase the rural workforce // Medical Teacher. 2009. Vol. 31, No. 3. P. e79–e84.
Borges N. J., Savickas M. L. Personality and medical specialty choice: A literature review and integration // Journal of Career Assessment. 2002. Vol. 10, No. 3. P. 362–380.
Personality types of medical students in terms of their choice of medical specialty: cross-sectional study // JMIR Medical Education / PubMed Central (PMC11733523). 2024.
Personality traits and medical specialty preference among medical students and graduates: a scoping review // BMC Medical Education / PubMed Central (PMC12631570). 2025.
Impact of personality temperaments and characters on academic performance and specialty selection among a group of Egyptian medical graduates // Teaching and Learning in Medicine / PubMed (PMID 24029247). 2013.
Павлов И. П. Полное собрание сочинений. Т. III, кн. 2: О типах высшей нервной деятельности. М.; Л.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1951.
Cloninger C. R. Cloninger's Psychobiological Model of Temperament and Character and the Five-Factor Model of Personality // Personality and Individual Differences. 2000. Vol. 28, No. 3. P. 441–452.
Дехкамбаева З. А. Методика преподавания медицинского образования в зарубежных странах // Multidisciplinary Journal of Science and Technology. 2025. Т. 5, № 12. С. 284–287.
Preparing for the Future of Medical Education // International Journal of Medical Education. 2025.
Тухтабаев Д. Д., Дехкамбаева З. А. Факторы, влияющие на развитие способностей человека // Shokh Articles Library. 2026. Т. 1, № 1. URL: https://mjstjournal.com/index.php/mjst/article/view/6029.
Dekhkambaeva Z. Analysis of concepts of developing the creative ability of students in higher educational institutions // EduVision: Journal of Innovations in Pedagogy and Educational Advancements. 2025. Vol. 1, No. 2. P. 292–296.
Дехкамбаева З. Zamonaviy ta’limni jismoniy tarbiya va sport vositasida takomillashtirish // Наука и
Article Statistics
Downloads
Copyright License
Copyright (c) 2026 Umarova D., Dekhkambaeva Z. A.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.