Development Strategies in Medical Education

Mendeley  

Zotero  

Ashrafi Z, Azizi S, Hamzeian A, Ebrahimian A. Temperament and character among professors and graduate students in medical sciences universities: Electronic population-based study. DSME 2025; 12 (3) :233-246
URL: http://dsme.hums.ac.ir/article-1-516-en.html

Introduction: The temperament and character are recognized as key factors shaping educational and research interactions within universities. These traits can significantly impact the quality of learning and teaching. Considering the important role of the healthcare field in the health of society, examining the nature and character of medical academics is of particular importance. This study aims to determine and compare the temperament and character of faculty members and graduate students in medical fields.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among faculty members and postgraduate students of medical sciences affiliated with the Ministry of Health, and non-medical sciences affiliated with the Ministry of Science across the country using an online questionnaire. Sampling was performed electronically. The sample size was estimated to be 205 individuals based on a correlation coefficient of 0.4 and a statistical power of 0.8. Data were collected using the 125-item Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory questionnaire, with internal consistency reliability coefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.90. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21, employing descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and multiple regression analysis. A significance level of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Half of the participants were aged between 31-40 years, with 69.2% being female. The highest and lowest scores in the temperament subscale were novelty seeking )10.99 ±2.34) and persistence (3.4±1.22), while the highest and lowest scores in the character subscale were cooperation (14.68±2.61) and self-directedness (9.66±4.43). Despite high scores in some subscales such as cooperativeness, self-directedness, and novelty seeking, no significant relationship was found between temperament and character in both groups (p>0.05).
Discussion: There was no significant difference in temperament and character between faculty members and graduate students in medical and non-medical fields. These findings highlight the uniformity of personality traits across both groups. Therefore, attention to other factors, such as the impact of the educational environment and teaching methods on temperament and character of students and faculty is recommended.