The value of the California Psychological Inventory in predicting medical students' career choice

Abstract

Much of the research in medical education has focused on the prediction of medical students' future career choices. This longitudinal study evaluates the effectiveness of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) in predicting career choices of students attending the University of Maryland School of Medicine. While results did reveal some significant and consistent differences between career choice groups, these differences were not of the magnitude to allow discrimination among all specialty groups. There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that career choice can be predicted from CPI data. It was concluded that future research into career choice prediction should focus on variables other than personality characteristics as measured by the CPI or similar tests.

Mapping medical careers: Questionnaire assessment of career preferences in medical school applicants and final-year students

“…[8-10]), on associations with particular personality types (e.g. [11]), on the careers of specific groups, such as women doctors (e.g. [12]), on attitudes towards specific specialities, such as psychiatry (e.g.…”

A Psychological Profile of Surgeons and Surgical Residents

“…28 Several studies aimed specifically at medical students who chose surgery and surgical residents described various personality traits and trends, especially when compared with nonsurgical physicians. [29][30][31] McGreevy and Wiebe 32 measured personality traits in 39 surgical residents using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R, an evaluation tool widely used in clinical and research, and used by the United States Air Force in pilot selection). The NEO PI-R generates a personality profile with 5 dimensions: neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), openness, (O), agreeableness (A), and conscientiousness (C).…”

Positive Disposition in the Prediction of Strategic Independence among Millennials

“…It is used in a variety of research studies, including understanding more about the relationships between high school and college students' scores on the CPI and their academic performance (Gough 1985). Other CPI-related research explores how scores on the CPI relate to individuals' career choices and decisions (Bartnick et al 1985) and career profiles (Gough 1995). Data were gathered from respondents using a 7-point Likert type response scale (1 = 'never' to 7 = 'always').…”