A descriptive analysis of psychological traits among the health-care providers

• Main Authors: Farah Ahmed, Tahseer Khan, Wajiha Rashid, Soubia Akhtar, Zaeem Ur Rehman Khan, Bilal Ahmed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2017-01-01
• Series: CHRISMED Journal of Health and Research
• Subjects: Health-care providers; mental health; psychological traits; psychopathic personality inventory; workload
• Online Access: http://www.cjhr.org/article.asp?issn=2348-3334;year=2017;volume=4;issue=2;spage=76;epage=80;aulast=Ahmed

Objective: The objective of this study is to access various personality traits of doctors of hospital subspecialties. Introduction: One of the most common perceptions in our society is that of medicine being a very stressful profession. The demands of practicing medicine can have significant effects on general health, work satisfaction, professional, and nonprofessional life. To increase the profitability, organizations curtail the staff to reduce the costs. Hence, it can be argued that doctors are subjected to extreme amounts psychiatric duress. Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. In which one hundred and twenty-one doctors were approached randomly varying from different specialties. The short form of the psychopathic personality inventory (PPI-SF) was used as a questionnaire. Results: One hundred and one (81 females and 20 males) doctors from various specialties responded and completed the PPI-SF questionnaire. The subspecialty analysis of the doctors' responses was subdivided into pediatrics, gynecology, medical specialties, surgery, anesthetics, and radiology. Surgeons and GyneObs were the highest scorers on the PPI-SF, with scores of 138 and 149, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that doctors score higher on a scale of psychopathic personality than the general population. This study also showed that stress immunity is the overriding personality trait in doctors which may, in turn, facilitate better overall patient care. Stress immunity may better facilitate empathy in certain acute situations, which plays a vital role in being a proficient doctor and providing satisfactory patient care and counseling.