Tolerance of ambiguity, perfectionism and resilience are associated with personality profiles of medical students oriented to rural practice

Purpose: Resilience, coping with uncertainty and learning from mistakes are vital characteristics for all medical disciplines - particularly rural practice. Levels of coping constructs were examined in medical students with and without a rural background or an interest in rural practice. Methods: Cr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical teacher 2017-05, Vol.39 (5), p.512-519
Main Authors: Eley, Diann S., Leung, Janni K., Campbell, Narelle, Cloninger, C. Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Background
Coping
Cross-Sectional Studies
Errors
General Practice - manpower
General Practitioners - psychology
Humans
Medical students
Perfectionism
Personality
Profiles
Resilience
Resilience, Psychological
Rural Health Services - manpower
Rural Population
Students, Medical - psychology
Tolerance
Uncertainty
Workforce
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Summary:Purpose: Resilience, coping with uncertainty and learning from mistakes are vital characteristics for all medical disciplines - particularly rural practice. Levels of coping constructs were examined in medical students with and without a rural background or an interest in rural practice. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys identified two personality profiles, and their association with levels of Tolerance of Ambiguity, Resilience, Perfectionism-High Standards and Concern over mistakes as constructs indicative of coping. Medical students (N = 797) were stratified by rural background and degree of rural interest. Mediation analysis tested the effect of personality profile on levels of the coping constructs. Results: More (72%) rural background students had Profile 1 which was associated with higher levels of Tolerance of Ambiguity, High standards, and Resilience, but lower Concern over mistakes. Non-rural background students reporting a strong rural interest also had Profile 1 (64%) and similar levels of coping constructs. Personality profile mediated the association between rural interest and levels of coping constructs regardless of background. Conclusions: Having a rural background or strong rural interest are associated with a personality profile that indicates a better capacity for coping. Personality may play a part in an individual's interest in rural practice. Rural workforce initiatives through education should encourage and nurture students with a genuine interest in rural practice - regardless of background.
ISSN:0142-159X
1466-187X
DOI:10.1080/0142159X.2017.1297530