Ambiguity Tolerance and Prospective Specialty Choice Among Third-Year Medical Students

Poor tolerance of ambiguity is consequential in clinical practice, and has been linked to avoidance of family medicine, in which there is inherently more ambiguity. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and prospective specialty choice of medical students in their third year of medical school. This stage of medical training is of particular importance as students develop clinical reasoning skills and encounter clinical ambiguity.

This was a cross-sectional study using an online survey. Sixty-one third-year medical students (62% response rate) from a large Canadian university completed the survey with a validated measure of ambiguity tolerance (the 29-item Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors scale) and their top three specialty choices. Specialty choices were subsequently grouped into two categories: family medicine (FM) and non-family medicine (non-FM) specialties.

There was no significant mean difference in tolerance of ambiguity between students who reported interest in FM and students interested in non-FM specialties. Similarly, we observed no significant difference in tolerance of ambiguity between female and male students. Older students reported higher levels of ambiguity tolerance. Older students were also more likely to report FM as one of their top three specialty choices.

Qualitative studies are needed to explore possible reasons for the observed results, including the effects of digital information resources and clinical decision-making tools on medical students' ambiguity tolerance. Medical educators should be aware that some students may require explicit training in how to respond to ambiguity.