A close look at anesthetists personality construct: Cloninger's personality dimensions in a sample of specialist anesthetists, trainee anesthetists, and nurse anesthetists

Abstract

Background: Anesthesiology is one of the most distressing specialities of medicine. Personality construct plays a crucial role in how one copes with profession-related stress. In this current study, the personality profiles of specialist anesthetists, trainee anesthetists, and nurse anesthetists were examined using the Turkish version of the temperament and character inventory (TCI). Materials and Methods: This study included 135 specialist anesthetists, trainee anesthetists, and nurse anesthetists. They were administered the Turkish TCI, Beck's depression inventory, and the Beck anxiety inventory. Results: Harm avoidance (HA), exploratory excitability, disorderliness, anticipatory worry, and fatigability scores of the three kinds of anesthesia providers were significantly lower than Turkish normative values for the general population, yet congruent second nature scores were significantly higher. Self-directedness (SD), reward dependence (RD), and persistence (P) scores were significantly lower than American normative values; however, HA scores were significantly higher. Between-group analysis showed statistically significant differences in five areas: novelty Seeking, HA, SD, RD, and persistence. On the other hand, no significant differences were found between depression and anxiety scores, although both were higher for trainee anesthetists in their first 2 years of training and for nurse anesthetists who had been working in the field for >10 years. Conclusion: This pioneering study using Cloninger's TCI provides a comprehensive personality assessment that may have implications for recruitment, crisis management, and professional development during anesthesiology residency training and also within the anaesthesiology practice.

Keywords

• anesthetist
• depression
• personality
• temperament and character inventory