Surgeon personality diversity across generations and subspecialties

Vincent Q. Sier, Roderick F. Schmitz, Reinier W.A.M. Wertenbroek, Abbey Schepers, Joost R. van der Vorst*, I. Beetz, M. A. Bessems, D. Boerma, P. H. Castenmiller, J. L. De Bruin, C. De Jonge, P. T. Den Hoed, R. J. Derksen, P. G. Doornebosch, J. W. Duijff, M. P.J. Engelen, D. J. Evers, E. J.B. Furnée, T. J. Gardenbroek, R. H. GeelkerkenJ. Heemskerk, A. A. Hellingman, R. J. Hissink, P. E.N. Hoek, C. E.S. Hoogstins, R. M. Houwert, G. I.T. Iordens, P. Johannesma, W. Kelder, S. Kleinveld, Schelto Kruijff, M. M. Kuipers, J. H.P. Lardenoije, L. Levert-Brand, M. A. Lijkwan, F. Logeman, B. Meesters, M. J. Molegraaf, B. G. Molenkamp, M. Möllers, C. C.L.M. Naves, H. W. Nijhof, J. P.E.N. Pierie, T. Schok, M. F. Sier, J. B. Sintenie, R. J. Swijnenburg, J. A.W. Teijink, J. A. Ten Bosch, J. A. Van Essen, Vincent Q. Sier, Roderick F. Schmitz, Reinier W.A.M. Wertenbroek, Abbey Schepers, Joost R. van der Vorst, I. Beetz, M. A. Bessems, D. Boerma, P. H. Castenmiller, J. L. De Bruin, C. De Jonge, P. T. Den Hoed, R. J. Derksen, P. G. Doornebosch, J. W. Duijff, M. P.J. Engelen, D. J. Evers, E. J.B. Furnée, T. J. Gardenbroek, R. H. Geelkerken, 2025. Surgeon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: Traditional exploration of surgical professionals' personality traits focuses on general characteristics at the domain-level of the five-factor model. Personality has been related to clinically-relevant areas such as clinical decision-making and team effectiveness, yet there is limited insight in the personality of surgeons at the facet-level of the Big Five. Here, we performed a large-scale study examining domain- and facet-variations of personality in four surgical generations and subspecialties. Method: The Big Five Inventory-2, measuring the five domains and fifteen corresponding facets of personality, was distributed among all general surgery departments in the Netherlands. Surgically-interested medical students were approached via the surgical student society. A normative sample was matched for age to the surgical population. Corrected one-way analyses of variance were performed. Results: The surgical population (medical students (n = 126), surgical residents not-in-training (n = 147), surgical residents-in-training (n = 227), and surgeons (n = 539)) scored higher on open-mindedness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and lower on negative emotionality relative to the normative population. Higher conscientiousness (p < 0.01) and lower negative emotionality (p < 0.001) were observed to increase per generation, together with lower open-mindedness scores in surgical residents (p < 0.001). Differences at the facet-level were present in five domains, including sub-traits such as productiveness, trust, and anxiety. Across environments, personality variances were observed in surgical subspecialty (conscientiousness, negative emotionality), teaching region (open-mindedness), and academics (open-mindedness). Conclusion: We delineated nuanced personality variations across generations and subspecialties in the surgical population, marking a starting point in the introduction of personality insights in the professional domain of healthcare.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)78-86
Number of pages9
JournalSurgeon
Volume23
Issue number2
Early online date18 Feb 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2025

Keywords

  • Big five personality
  • Five-factor model
  • Generations
  • Surgical personality
  • Work environment

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Surgeon personality diversity across generations and subspecialties'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this