Personal values related to primary care specialty aspirations

Two recent studies showed that personal values influence specialty choice. However, both studies assessed the perceived influence of values instead of measuring values directly. The present study measured and compared the values of aspirants to primary care versus other specialties.

In 1993, first-year medical students, entering residents, and graduating residents at a private Midwestern medical school completed a questionnaire on their specialty aspirations and completed the Schwartz Values Survey, which measures the importance of 10 types of values: achievement, benevolence, conformity, hedonism, power, security, self-direction, stimulation, tradition, and universalism. A three-factor MANOVA (specialty aspiration, gender, level of training) was performed on the importance ratings.

The three MANOVA main effects were significant. Primary care aspirants rated power and self-direction values lower and benevolence values higher than did aspirants to other specialties. Women gave higher ratings to universalism and benevolence and lower ratings to power, tradition, and conformity values than did men. Medical students rated security values lower than did the two resident groups.

This study demonstrates the relationship of personal values and specialty choice and provides empirical support for admissions policies that incorporate personal values into the admissions process.