One of the current debates in medical education is the inclusion of non-cognitive variables, such as personal qualities, in the selection procedure for future health professionals.1 There is a need to select the best candidates for medical schools not only because of the excess of appli-cants but also to develop competent and ethical health professionals.2-4 Becoming a good doctor is more than acquiring medical knowledge and using scientific and technical competencies, it is also essential to acquire inter-personal communication skills and professional behaviors.1,3
Traditionally, academic ability has been used as the main criterion; however, it is not as discriminating as previously thought.5 Medical students also differ according to their personality traits, interests, and motivations. Bore et al.4 have recently proposed a theoretical model for medical student selection that includes informed self-selection, academic achievement, general cognitive ability, personality characteristics, and interpersonal skills. Research is needed to determine which non-cognitive variables should be considered in the selection procedure of medical students. Studies of personality in medical students and practitioners have found that personality traits, especially conscientious-ness, predict performance in medical school and future success in a medical career.6,7
For instance, personality distinguishes high competency from low-competency anesthesiology residents.8 Similarly, medical students’ communication skills are positively related to personality characteristics such as warmth, emotional stability, and perfectionism.9 In addition, person-ality traits influence specialty choice of medical students,10,11 and discriminate among practitioners according to their medical specialty.12 However, despite the existing interest in personality, the wide variety of measures used and the