An inquiry of the personality preferences of osteopathic medical

students and their choice of residency specialty, using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

John Graneto, DO

Lisa Szymanski, MOL

Tina Marino, MEd

What is the MBTI?

• “The essence of the theory is that much seemingly

random variation in the behavior is actually quite

orderly and consistent, being due to basic

differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their

perception and judgment.

MBTI® Certification Program Copyright 2008, 2009, 2011 by CPP, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this slide for workshop use. Duplication for any other

use, including resale, is a violation of copyright law. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI, Introduction to Type, and the MBTI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the MBTI Trust,

Inc., in the United States and other countries. The CPP logo is a trademark or a registered trademark of CPP, Inc., in the United States and other countries.

Our study

The study is designed to compare the Myers Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI), which measures the personality preferences of osteopathic

medical students to their choice of residency specialty.

Carl Jung: we all live in 2 worlds

• Some prefer the outer world

• Some prefer the inner world

• Preferences are “inborn predispositions”

• Shaped by environment, family, culture, education (outer world)

• MBTI measures the “inner world”.

MBTI® Certification Program Copyright 2008, 2009, 2011 by CPP, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this slide for workshop use. Duplication for any other

use, including resale, is a violation of copyright law. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI, Introduction to Type, and the MBTI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the MBTI Trust,

Inc., in the United States and other countries. The CPP logo is a trademark or a registered trademark of CPP, Inc., in the United States and other countries.

The MBTI® instrument indicates preferences on four

pairs of opposites, called dichotomies:

The MBTI® Dichotomies

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Extraversion E or I Introversion

Sensing S or N Intuition

Thinking T or F Feeling

Judging J or P Perceiving

MBTI® Certification Program Copyright 2008, 2009, 2011 by CPP, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this slide for workshop use. Duplication for any other

use, including resale, is a violation of copyright law. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI, Introduction to Type, and the MBTI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the MBTI Trust,

Inc., in the United States and other countries. The CPP logo is a trademark or a registered trademark of CPP, Inc., in the United States and other countries.

16 Personality Types

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D.O.’s vs. M.D.’s

• “Myers found that all MBTI types were admitted to

medical school in approximately equal

numbers”(Stillwell, et al).

• Does this apply to osteopathic doctors?

Our Results Approximately 63% of the respondents were

identified as “Extraverts,” while approximately 37%

were “Introverts.”

This trend was, more or less, the same for each of

the four specialties under investigation. There were

no apparent differences in specialties when

compared to the sample as a whole.

Specialty is not significantly related to a person’s

score on the Extraversion/Introversion portion of the

Meyers-Briggs (χ2=2.714, p =.438).

Emergency Medicine

74% of the

respondents

identified as

“Thinkers,” while

26% identified as

“Feelers”

For Family Medicine

o36% of the

respondents

identified as

“Thinkers,” while

64% identified as

“Feelers”

For Internal Medicine:

o44% of the

respondents

identified as

“Thinkers,”

while 56%

identified as

“Feelers”

For Pediatrics:

• 19% of the

respondents

identified as

“Thinkers,” while

81% identified as

“Feelers”

In Summaryo The majority of respondents in Emergency

Medicine were identified as “Thinkers,”

while the majority of respondents in Family

Medicine, Internal Medicine, and

Pediatrics were identified as “Feelers.”

o The differences between these groups

was more than would be expected by

chance alone (χ2=16.616, p =.001).

How would the MBTI benefit an e-portfolio?

References• Graneto, JG, et al. (2014). An inquiry of the

personality preferences of osteopathic medical

students and their choice of residency specialty,

using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

• Stillwell, NA, et al. (2000). Teach Learn Med. Winter;

12(1):14-20. Myers-Briggs type and medical

specialty choice: a new look at an old question.

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