Influence of gender in vocational preferences and personality traits in Medical students

Abstract

Introduction. In this paper, we try to analyze he possible relationships between gender of the Medical students, their personality and their vocational preferences.

Material and methods. A total of 1,482 2nd year medical students from the Valencia University were analyzed. They answered and anonymous survey on their sociodemographic characteristics and their vocational interests. We determined their personality profile with the 16 PF of Cattell. The data obtained were analyzed with the logistic regression techniques.

Results. Most of the population analyzed were female (62.7%) with a medium age of 20 years. The Pediatric and Gynecology-Obstetrics specialities were preferred mostly by female students and Orthopedic surgery by male students. The female students had a specific personality traits, they were more «affectionate» (A+), «conscientious» (G+), boldness (H+), «astute» (N+) and «self-sufficient» (Q3+). While the male students were more «toughminded» (I+), «suspicious» (L+), «practical» (M+), «rebellious (Q1+) and «self-sufficient» (Q2+).

Conclusions. Gender has a significant influence on the medical student both in their vocational preferences as well as their personality profile.