In the BMJ Rimmer, 2023 has noted important differences between the personalities of doctors, their patients, and the general population.
In a paper published in BMJ Open, Australian researchers found that doctors were significantly more agreeable, conscientious, extroverted, and neurotic than the general population, but that patients were more open than doctors.
The researchers compared the outcomes of two surveys to find out if there were personality trait differences between doctors and other people.
The first survey was the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey of 25,358 members of the general public aged 20-85 which included 18,705 patients, 1261 highly educated people, and 5814 professional carers.
The second is interesting. It is the ‘Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL)’ longitudinal survey of doctors. This is a national resource which produces evidence to help ensure the sustainability of the health sector, as well as improved access to medical care. There is no UK equivalent.
