Personality traits and resident education preferences within general surgery

• Published in: Surgical endoscopy
• Main Authors: Gerull, William D., Gerull, Katherine M., Gan, Connie, Bongu, Advaith, Nepomnayshy, Dmitry, Awad, Michael M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany 25.07.2025
• Subjects: Resident education; Introversion; Extraversion; Graduate medical education; Personality traits; Surgical education
• ISSN: 0930-2794; 1432-2218; 1432-2218
• DOI: 10.1007/s00464-025-11991-z

General surgery residents encounter a myriad of learning environments, each involving teaching styles that may or may not align with trainees' preferred learning styles. Moreover, trainees' preferred learning styles are likely influenced by their personality traits such as their degree of introversion/extraversion. We aimed to investigate general surgery residents' personality traits and how this may impact their preferred learning styles in various environments. In March 2024, a cross-sectional survey was distributed to general surgery residents at four academic tertiary-care institutions. The survey assessed degree of introversion/extraversion through 9 questions from the validated Big 5 Personality Trait model. Based on the distribution of subject's scores, participants were binned into three groups: more introverted, intermediate, and more extraverted. The survey then asked questions about learning preferences in various surgical education environments including lectures, simulations, and in the operating room. Subjects were asked to place, in rank order, the educational and motivational value of various teaching methods within each environment. A total of 66 out of 300 eligible residents completed the survey (22%). For lecture participation modalities, introverted residents found anonymous audience polls most educational and questions to specific individuals least educational. Extraverted residents were evenly distributed on the educational value of various lecture participation modalities. Introverted residents found a required skills competition least motivational whereas extraverted residents found it the most motivational. For intraoperative educational modalities, across all residents, receiving feedback on operative technique was the most educational and motivational. In this study, links between residents' degree of extraversion and modifiable learning environment preferences were elucidated. We found differences in what introverted and extraverted residents found to be the most educational in lecture and simulation environments. These preferences highlight the importance of tailoring learning environments to optimize the educational growth of different residents.