Specialty choice, stress and personality: their relationships over time

A longitudinal questionnaire study of 314 medical students followed up as p reregistration house officers (PRHOs) and again 7 years later showed labora tory-based doctors were the least happy with their choice of career and wer e the most stressed now, while surgeons were the most happy with their choi ce and the least stressed. These differences were apparent 10 years earlier The study also describes perceived influences on specialty choice and expl ores how earlier factors, such as personality as students and stress in the PRHO year, may also have influenced specialty choice.