Intellectual and attitudinal characteristics of medical students selecting family practice

Family practice residents were compared with residents in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, and pediatrics in terms of cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics. Family practice residents were in most instances significantly different from the other four groups. On non-cognitive measures they scored higher on affiliation need and lower on aggression and materialism. Their scores on several cognitive measures were among the highest of the five groups. These results were contrary to others from earlier studies. However, if the trend reported here is confirmed on other samples, it is the more intellectually gifted and idealistic physician who is currently being attracted to the practice of family medicine.