The Student Room Group

Personality types and medical specialities

Poll

What's your personality type?

Please answer the poll if you're a medic or definitely applying for medicine. If you don't know your myers-briggs personality type, you can do the simple online test here

The personality type's descriptions and likely careers seem pretty accurate from comments in the recent thread in GD. And it figures that your personality, to some degree, depicts what specialities you'll be most interested in...

Myers and Briggs made this table showing which people with specific personality types are more likely to go into different medical specialities.. do you think it rings true for you? See here

This article's also quite interesting (and short & easy to read!): http://www.ttuhsc.edu/SOM/Success/Who%20does%20what.htm

What do you think?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Blimey - that was complicated!! :eek:

I don't think I'm interested in what I'm supposed to be :hmmmm: - but to be perfectly honest I'm not quite sure. :redface:
Reply 2
Ataloss
Blimey - that was complicated!! :eek:

I don't think I'm interested in what I'm supposed to be :hmmmm: - but to be perfectly honest I'm not quite sure. :redface:
It soooo isn't complicated :p:

I'm apparently most suited to psychiatry, which is annoying cause I was trying to repress my interest in it.. what with it blatently being a bad idea for my mental health. Either I should fight it, or I'm probably doooooomed :eek:
Reply 3
I think Psychiatry, more than any other, is the "marmite" specialty. You will either love it or hate it. Most people have enough idea from their medical student placements as to whether it is for them or not.

It definitely isn't for me and why it makes up 3-4% of the MRCP part 1 and 2 I will never work out! :rant:
i'm enfj, but dont like the top specialties according to that. Am more your MAU type person - acute medicine.

Ataloss - have you already done MRCP part 1?
Reply 5
Jamie


Ataloss - have you already done MRCP part 1?


Yes - but the chances of me getting part 2 (written) seem unlikely. :frown:

My revision avoidance has been exemplary - typified by my exponential rise in post count on this forum this week. :s-smilie:

The bright side being I only needed, in terms of exams, part 1 to be guaranteed an ST3 job. :smile:
ENTJ- interesting stuff.
Ataloss
Yes - but the chances of me getting part 2 (written) seem unlikely. :frown:

My revision avoidance has been exemplary - typified by my exponential rise in post count on this forum this week. :s-smilie:

The bright side being I only needed, in terms of exams, part 1 to be guaranteed an ST3 job. :smile:

Really?
I'm doing my part 1 in september and can't decide whether to go for part 2 straight after or wait until july next year ('ill have done rheumatology/gen medicine and haematology rotations then).

think i might be underestimating some of the difficulty, but i find mcq type questions rather easy...

PACES on the other hand fills me with dread
Reply 8
Jamie
Really?
I'm doing my part 1 in september and can't decide whether to go for part 2 straight after or wait until july next year ('ill have done rheumatology/gen medicine and haematology rotations then).

think i might be underestimating some of the difficulty, but i find mcq type questions rather easy...

PACES on the other hand fills me with dread


If you passed part 1 in September - you wouldn't be able to take part 2 (written) until April the next year at the earliest - as that would be the next "diet". There are loads of questions for part 1 (free as well as those you have to pay for) on various sites. I ignored exams in foundation program as I foolishly thought they get scraped or changed as the surgeons have done. :redface:

You could, with the new rules, theoretically of course sit PACES before then as you can now do that before Part 2 written.

I am lucky with regards to the run through - I fear it is going to be more difficult by the looks of things for the following years.

Good luck with Part 1.
Reply 9
actually anyone realised that 'rationals' (NT's) so ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP, INTP, are scarce and make up apparently 5-10% of the general population however one the student pole so far seem to be the most popular group!
Reply 10
Indeed ^
Most people are 'judging' not 'perceiving' i.e.

"A style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in some fashion managing the things and or people found in the external environment. The drive is to order the outside world. While some people employ an assertive manner, others "ordering touch" - with respect to people - may be light."

And more people are 'thinking' than 'feeling', i.e.

"Have a natural preference for making decisions in an objective, logical, and analytical manner with an emphasis on tasks and results to be accomplished."

stolen from here

Obviously this could be a coincidence.. maybe TSR users have specific traits that other people don't!

Oh and more extroverts, which isn't really surprising.. and 2/3 of the country are meant to be extroverts.
Reply 11
ENFJ so that makes me...... an Orthopedic Surgeon :eek:!!!! errrrrm, not quite sure about that!
Reply 12
Ataloss
It definitely isn't for me and why it makes up 3-4% of the MRCP part 1 and 2 I will never work out! :rant:
Not because it makes up far more than 3-4% of most medics work? One of the medical firms I was on had a six bed bay permanently occupied with acopia and depression.
Reply 13
ISTPs and ISFPs appear to be most attracted to monitoring jobs such as anesthesiology. Extraverted SPs were less comfortable with the extended attention span required by these specialties.

:biggrin:
Reply 14
Renal
Not because it makes up far more than 3-4% of most medics work? One of the medical firms I was on had a six bed bay permanently occupied with acopia and depression.


Now don't try and justify these things with logic. :wink:
Reply 15
Although i'm not applying for two more years, i'm pretty adamant i'll be going to medical school.

ENFJ for myself.
Reply 16
im ESTJ but i dont understand the table in the second link
Reply 17
FTC199
im ESTJ but i dont understand the table in the second link
the first column of the table applies to you. Its a list of specialities that are overrepresented (and lower down, underrepresented) by people of a similar personality type to you. Its looking at the ST part of your personality.
Reply 18
Saffie
the first column of the table applies to you. Its a list of specialities that are overrepresented (and lower down, underrepresented) by people of a similar personality type to you. Its looking at the ST part of your personality.


thanks, woo! psychiatry is at the bottom then, and orthopaedic surgery near the top
I'm ENFJ too :smile:
Ooooh, Neurological Surgery and Child Psychiatry, interesting...

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