DAN Faculty in the News - Feb 2
Personality key in predicting medical school success
Excerpt from Western News
Research found personality traits, such as conscientiousness, achievement, calmness, social confidence, tolerance and responsibility did, in fact, lead to a better predictability for the potential success of medical students.
Mitch Rothstein, professor and chair of the Department of Management and Organizational Studies, was also part of the new study. He has done similar personality measure studies related to business students and said while personality traits aren’t the primary marker of capability, they are worthy of consideration.
“You can be smart and write a hell of an exam, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can do the job,” he said. “(Predictability of performance) was all in the grades. But you add a personality equation, and it adds a little bit of predictability. Performance in the clerkship, the behavioral and skill utilization – it was all personality.”
