Ten Years of a Trans-Pacific Medical Education Partnership-Training Globally to Serve Locally.

Background: In 2009, Ochsner Health in New Orleans, Louisiana, and The University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, formed a medical school partnership. The rationale for UQ to enter this partnership was to strengthen its already strong international multicultural environment and enrich the domestic Australian student experience. The rationale for Ochsner Health was to raise its academic stature and to train high-quality physicians. This partnership is unique among US international partnerships because the intent is for graduates to practice in the United States. Methods: A new 10-year agreement began in January 2020 with further enhancements to the program. This article describes the educational philosophy informing the partnership, the programmatic design, challenges faced and overcome, and outcomes from the first 10 graduating cohorts of this medical program. Results: The UQ-Ochsner Clinical School partnership posed many challenges. UQ faced a major cultural shift to implement United States Medical Licensing Examination step preparation. Student recruitment challenges and state-specific accreditation concerns had to be solved. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic presented unique challenges with the strict prohibition on travel into Australia. Challenges were addressed, and the tenth graduating class completed training in December 2021. More than 850 medical students have graduated from the program, with 30% staying in Louisiana for postgraduate training. The overall first-attempt match rate of 95% exceeds the US allopathic average. Although graduates have faced stigma from their designation as international medical graduates, they have successfully matched in every specialty and in almost every US state. Conclusion: The UQ-Ochsner Clinical School partnership has been successful for the institutions involved and the students who have graduated. The overarching aim of the partnership, "train globally to serve locally," has endured. Through their training in this partnership, UQ-Ochsner Clinical School graduates bring a unique global outlook to their roles while helping to fill the increasing need for physicians in the United States.

A Paradigm Shift from International to Transnational Medical Education.

In recent years, the number of medical students seeking international opportunities has grown. To satisfy these demands, collaborative international programs have been developed. However, the benefits of these programs are limited as they employ an international medical education (IME) approach where only the students are exchanged. In this commentary, we discuss the current models of IME and propose a paradigm shift to a transnational approach wherein the student, faculty, and curriculum are exchanged allowing for increased integration and awareness of cultural and educational approaches to treatment that can be retained and incorporated into future practice to advance healthcare across the globe.

Temperament and character in an Australian sample: examining cross-sectional associations of personality with age, sex, and satisfaction with life.

Objective: Personality can influence how we interpret and react to our day-to-day life circumstances. Temperament and character are the primary dimensions of personality, and both are influenced genetically. Temperament represents our emotional core, while character reflects our goals and values as we develop through life. Research shows that where people live, their social, economic, and physical environment can influence attitudes and behaviors, and these have links to variations in personality traits. There are few studies that focus on Australian personality as temperament and character. Using an Australian general population sample, we examined the psychometric properties of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCIR140) and investigated the associations between TCIR140 traits with both sociodemographic variables and measures of well-being. In addition, we investigated differences in temperament and character between our Australian general population sample and published results of similar studies from other countries. Methods: Australians (N = 1,510) completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCIR-140), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined the TCIR-140 psychometrics. Correlation analyzes, independent sample t-tests and ANOVA with post-hoc comparisons analyzed the sample. Results: Cronbach's alphas were high, ranging from α = 0.78-0.92, and the CFA confirmed two constructs of temperament and character. Females were higher in Harm Avoidance (p < 0.001), Reward Dependence (p < 0.001), and Cooperativeness (p < 0.001) compared to males, who were higher in Self-Directedness (p < 0.001). Age groups showed significant differences among all temperament and character traits (p < 0.001) except for Reward Dependence (p = 0.690). Young adults had the least resilient personality profile and poorest measures of well-being. Correlations with measures of temperament and character, well-being and affect were all in the expected direction. Conclusions: Temperament and character are related to indicators of wellbeing and differs by age and sex. This Australian sample demonstrate a temperament that is high in Persistence and a character high in Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness with an overall postive affect and a general satisfaction with life. In comparison to other countries, Australians in this sample differ in levels of several traits, demonstrating a cautious and independent temperament with a character that is cooperative, industrious, and self-reliant. Young-adults in comparison to older groups have a temperament and character profile that is prone to negative emotions and a lower satisfaction with life.

Rural medical workforce pathways: exploring the importance of postgraduation rural training time.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate distribution of the medical workforce in rural regions remains a key global challenge. Evidence of the importance of postgraduation (after medical school) rural immersion time and subsequent rural practice, particularly after accounting for other key factors, remains limited. This study investigated the combined impact of three key training pathway factors: (1) rural background, (2) medical school rural immersion, and (3) postgraduation rural immersion, and duration time of each immersion factor on working rurally. METHODS: Data from a cross-sectional national survey and a single university survey of Australian doctors who graduated between 2000 to 2018, were utilised. Key pathway factors were similarly measured. Postgraduation rural training time was both broad (first 10 years after medical school, national study) and specific (prevocational period, single university). This was firstly tested as the dependent variable (stage 1), then matched against rural practice (stage 2) amongst consultant doctors (national study, n = 1651) or vocational training doctors with consultants (single university, n = 478). RESULTS: Stage 1 modelling found rural background, > 1 year medical school rural training, being rural bonded, male and later choosing general practice were associated with spending a higher proportion (> 40%) of their postgraduation training time in a rural location. Stage 2 modelling revealed the dominant impact of postgraduation rural time on subsequent rural work for both General Practitioners (GPs) (OR 45, 95% CI 24 to 84) and other specialists (OR 11, 95% CI 5-22) based on the national dataset. Similar trends for both GPs (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.6-9.1) and other specialists (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.4) were observed based on prevocational time only (single university). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new evidence of the importance of postgraduation rural training time on subsequent rural practice, after accounting for key factors across the entire training pathway. It highlights that developing rural doctors aligns with two distinct career periods; stage 1-up to completing medical school; stage 2-after medical school. This evidence supports the need for strengthened rural training pathways after medical school, given its strong association with longer-term decisions to work rurally.

Perspectives on Medical Education in an Increasingly Globalized Society: Recognizing and Embracing Our Diversity.

Medical curricula around the globe are diverse, accommodating the social, political, cultural, and health needs in each country. Every medical school has the responsibility to educate graduates capable of providing quality medical care to their communities. Yet true globalization of medical education is a challenge. Little is known about the intrinsic variations which impact curricula in countries around the world. There are unique, often historical reasons that explain the challenges in attaining a genuine globalization of the medical curricula. This perspective provides a glance and general comparison of traditions, economic, and socio-political influences on medical education across seven countries.

A longitudinal cohort study observed increasing perfectionism and declining resilience, ambiguity tolerance and calling during medical school which is not explained by student personality.

BACKGROUND: The medical degree is a long and challenging program, not just academically, but regarding the expectations engrained in the culture of medical education. The recent proliferation of literature on the poor mental well-being among students suggests a dilemma that often lays the onus on students to improve their health. The link between personality and vulnerability to psychological distress is acknowledged. This longitudinal study looked at personality in 1st-year and changes in levels of certain psychological traits, as proxy indicators of well-being, in 4th-year. We aimed to determine to what extent changes in psychological traits over time may be attributed to personality. METHODS: Medical students completed surveys at the start (1st-year: baseline) and finish (4th-year: follow-up) of their medical degree (N = 154). Temperament and character personality, Perfectionism-Concern over mistakes (CoM), Ambiguity Tolerance, Resilience, Calling to medicine, and demographic variables were measured. Paired t-tests compared changes in psychological traits from baseline to follow-up. Linear regression examined whether personality at baseline would predict levels of psychological traits at follow-up. RESULTS: The temperament and character profile of the sample was as expected, and congruent with previous studies, which describe a mature personality. Over four years, levels of Perfectionism-CoM significantly increased, while Resilience, Ambiguity Tolerance and Calling to medicine decreased. Harm Avoidance, Persistence, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness at baseline significantly predicted levels of these traits at follow-up, but effect sizes were weak. Correlations were in the expected direction and weak. CONCLUSIONS: Most commencing medical students, including this cohort, have mature personalities with an industrious temperament and an adaptable character. Yet over four years of medicine, Ambiguity Tolerance, Resilience and Calling declined while Perfectionism-CoM, already elevated at baseline, continued to increase to the final year. Of concern is the increased perfectionism that is strongly associated with poor mental health and psychological distress. The findings suggest a closer look at the entirety of the education environment and how its culture, including secondary school and the medical school admissions processes may influence these trends in students. As medical educators we should question why the pathway to medicine places such unhealthy pressure on students who aspire to be doctors.

Empathetic, persistent and female: A snapshot of oral health therapy students in Australia and New Zealand.

INTRODUCTION: Dental therapists, hygienists and oral health therapists constitute up to a third of the dental workforce in Australia and New Zealand. Personality is often explored in health professions to provide insights into traits that are conducive to workforce retention and to assist in planning and training. This study aimed to investigate the current demographic and personality characteristics of oral health students in Australia and New Zealand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Students in years one to three of all eight undergraduate Bachelor of Oral Health programs in Australia and New Zealand were invited to complete an online survey. The survey measured activities prior to entering into oral health, career intentions and included a personality questionnaire, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). RESULTS: Three quarters of participants (n = 336; 30% response rate; females = 90%) were single, from an urban area and 20-29 years of age. Oral health students overall portrayed high trait levels of Persistence and Cooperativeness. Cluster analysis of TCI traits identified three groups. Groups of students with high Persistence and Cooperativeness tended to be older, were working in non-dental and dental careers prior to their degree and were interested in working in regional areas after graduation. CONCLUSIONS: Students with high levels of persistence and cooperativeness were interested in working in regional areas after graduation, highlighting the importance of industriousness and persistence in overcoming barriers to practicing in regional areas. Further research is warranted to investigate barriers and enablers in recruitment and retention of males in a primarily female dominated profession.

Understanding the well-being of dentistry students.

INTRODUCTION: The transactional model of stress is a framework describing the process for coping with stressful events as a relationship between the individual person and environment. This study aimed to investigate the associations between personality, learning environment and experiences of mental health for a cohort of Australian dentistry students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Students were invited in 2017 to complete an online questionnaire including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCIR-140). Students were followed-up one year later, and generalised estimating equations were used. RESULTS: A total of 219 (response 73.5%) students participated in the study. Two personality profiles of dentistry students were identified. Group 1 were significantly higher in the traits persistence, self-directedness, cooperativeness and reward dependence, whereas Group 2 were significantly higher in harm avoidance. Students with Group 2 personality had a 3.12 (CI:1.72-5.65) increased odds of depression compared to Group 1 students. Compared to students with positive perceptions of the learning environment, students with negative perceptions had increased odds of stress (3.48, CI: 1.85-6.53), depression (2.71, CI: 1.57- 4.65) and anxiety (2.59, CI: 1.56-4.28). CONCLUSION: Students with personalities high in levels of self-directedness, cooperativeness and persistence and low in harm avoidance, as found in Group 1, demonstrate high levels of general well-being. Positive perceptions of the dentistry learning environment were found to be an important influence on students stress. This study highlighted a number of factors important to student well-being and provides direction for further investigation of interventions aimed at enhancing student well-being.

Exploring Doctors' Emerging Commitment to Rural and General Practice Roles over Their Early Career.

Producing enough doctors working in general practice or rural locations, or both, remains a key global policy focus. However, there is a lack of evidence about doctors' emerging commitment to these decisions. This study aimed to explore changes in the level of certainty about career interest in working in general practice and working rurally, as doctors pass through various early career stages. The participants were 775 eligible respondents to a 2019 survey of medical graduates of The University of Queensland from 2002-2018. Certainty levels of specialty choice were similar between GPs and specialists up until the beginning of registrar training. At that point, 65% of GPs compared with 80% of other specialists had strong certainty of their specialty field. Consistently (and significantly) less of those working rurally had strong certainty of the location where they wanted to practice medicine at each career time point. At the start of registrar training, a similar gap remained (strong certainty: 51% rural versus 63% metropolitan). This study provides new evidence that career intent certainty is more delayed for the cohort choosing general practice and rural practice than the other options. The low level of certainty in early career highlights the importance of regular positive experiences that help to promote the uptake of general practice and rural practice.

Personality, Resilience, and Calling in Students Undertaking a Medical Degree Across Two Continents: Disparate Pathways to the Healing Profession.

Background: An educational partnership between The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia and Ochsner Health in the United States developed the UQ-Ochsner medical program that trains American citizens to practice medicine in the United States. This program provides the opportunity to explore and compare the personal characteristics of UQ-Ochsner students with their domestic (Australian citizen) and international classmates not enrolled in the Ochsner program. Findings may offer some insights into the types of students who choose to study medicine across multiple countries. Methods: We used a quantitative cross-sectional design for our study. A first-year cohort of domestic, international, and UQ-Ochsner students completed a survey comprising demographic questions and measures of temperament and character personality, resilience, and calling to medicine. Univariate statistics were used to compare groups for all variables. Results: The whole sample response rate was 72.1% (375/520). Domestic students represented the greatest proportion of students <25 years, and UQ-Ochsner students represented the greatest proportion of students of ≥26 years. Gender did not differ significantly between groups. The majority first degree for all students was science, although 23% of UQ-Ochsner students reported arts/law/humanities degrees. In comparison to all other students (domestic and international combined), UQ-Ochsner students scored significantly lower in levels of harm avoidance (P=0.039) and higher in self-directedness and self-transcendence, resilience, and calling with medium to strong effect sizes (d>0.3). Conclusion: UQ-Ochsner students have a personality profile similar to their classmates but with levels of certain traits-higher self-directedness and lower harm avoidance-that in combination contribute to higher resilience and a strong sense of calling to medicine. Being slightly older may allow for more development of self-directedness, but low harm avoidance suggests an innate degree of confidence in and acceptance of risk to achieving goals.

Building a sustainable rural physician workforce.

CHAPTER 1: CHARACTERISING AUSTRALIA'S RURAL SPECIALIST PHYSICIAN WORKFORCE: THE PROFESSIONAL PROFILE AND PROFESSIONAL SATISFACTION OF JUNIOR DOCTORS AND CONSULTANTS: Objective: To assess differences in the demographic characteristics, professional profile and professional satisfaction of rural and metropolitan junior physicians and physician consultants in Australia. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional, population level national survey of the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life longitudinal cohort study (collected 2008-2016). Participants were specialist physicians from four career stage groups: pre-registrars (physician intent); registrars; new consultants (< 5 years since Fellowship); and consultants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Level of professional satisfaction across various job aspects, such as hours worked, working conditions, support networks and educational opportunities, comparing rural and metropolitan based physicians. RESULTS: Participants included 1587 pre-registrars (15% rural), 1745 physician registrars (9% rural), 421 new consultants (20% rural) and 1143 consultants (13% rural). Rural physicians of all career stages demonstrated equivalent professional satisfaction across most job aspects, compared with metropolitan physician counterparts. Some examples of differences in satisfaction included rural pre-registrars being less likely to agree they had good access to support and supervision from qualified consultants (odds ratio [OR], 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9) and rural consultants being more likely to agree they had a poorer professional support network (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2-2.9). In terms of demographics, relatively more rural physicians had a rural background or were trained overseas. Although most junior physicians were women, female consultants were less likely to be working in a rural location (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.8). CONCLUSION: Junior physicians in metropolitan or rural settings have a similar professional experience, which is important in attracting future trainees. Increased opportunities for rural training should be prioritised, along with addressing concerns about the professional isolation and poorer support network of those in rural areas, not only among junior doctors but also consultants. Finally, making rural practice more attractive to female junior physicians could greatly improve the consultant physician distribution. CHAPTER 2: GENERAL PHYSICIANS AND PAEDIATRICIANS IN RURAL AUSTRALIA: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY: Objective: To explore the construction of professional identity among general physicians and paediatricians working in non-metropolitan areas. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with general physicians and paediatricians, plus informants from specialist colleges, government agencies and academia who were involved in policy and programs for the training and recruitment of specialists in rural locations across three states and two territories. This research is part of the Training Pathways and Professional Support for Building a Rural Physician Workforce Study, 2018-19. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Individual and collective descriptors of professional identity. RESULTS: We interviewed 36 key informants. Professional identity for general physicians and paediatricians working in regional, rural and remote Australia is grounded in the breadth of their training, but qualified by location - geographic location, population served or specific location, where social and cultural context specifically shapes practice. General physicians and paediatricians were deeply engaged with their local community and its economic vulnerability, and they described the population size and dynamics of local economies as determinants of viable practice. They often complemented their practice with formal or informal training in areas of special interest, but balanced their practice against subspecialist availability, also dependent on demographics. While valuing their professional roles, they showed limited inclination for industrial organisation. CONCLUSION: Despite limited consensus on identity descriptors, rural general physicians and paediatricians highly value generalism and their rural engagement. The structural and geographic bias that preferences urban areas will need to be addressed to further develop coordinated strategies for advanced training in rural contexts, for which collective identity is integral. CHAPTER 3: SUSTAINABLE RURAL PHYSICIAN TRAINING: LEADERSHIP IN A FRAGILE ENVIRONMENT: Objectives: To understand Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) training contexts, including supervisor and trainee perspectives, and to identify contributors to the sustainability of training sites, including training quality. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional mixed-methods design was used. A national sample of RACP trainees and Fellows completed online surveys. Survey respondents who indicated willingness to participate in interviews were purposively recruited to cover perspectives from a range of geographic, demographic and training context parameters. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fellows' and trainees' work and life satisfaction, and their experiences of supervision and training, respectively, by geographic location. RESULTS: Fellows and trainees reported high levels of satisfaction, with one exception - inner regional Fellows reported lower satisfaction regarding opportunities to use their abilities. Not having a good support network was associated with lower satisfaction. Our qualitative findings indicate that a culture of undermining rural practice is prevalent and that good leadership at all levels is important to reduce negative impacts on supervisor and trainee availability, site accreditation and viability. Trainees described challenges in navigating training pathways, ensuring career development, and having the flexibility to meet family needs. The small number of Fellows in some sites poses challenges for supervisors and trainees and results in a blurring of roles; accreditation is an obstacle to provision of training at rural sites; and the overlap between service and training roles can be difficult for supervisors. CONCLUSION: Our qualitative findings emphasise the distinctive nature of regional specialist training, which can make it a fragile environment. Leadership at all levels is critical to sustaining accreditation and support for supervisors and trainees. CHAPTER 4: PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR A SUSTAINABLE RURAL SPECIALIST PHYSICIAN WORKFORCE: Objective: To draw on research conducted in the Building a Rural Physician Workforce project, the first national study on rural specialist physicians, to define a set of principles applicable to guiding training and professional support action. DESIGN: We used elements of the Delphi approach for systematic data collection and codesign, and applied a hybrid participatory action planning approach to achieve consensus on a set of principles. RESULTS: Eight interconnected foundational principles built around rural regions and rural people were identified: FP1, grow your own "connected to" place; FP2, select trainees invested in rural practice; FP3, ground training in community need; FP4, rural immersion - not exposure; FP5, optimise and invest in general medicine; FP6, include service and academic learning components; FP7, join up the steps in rural training; and FP8, plan sustainable specialist roles. CONCLUSION: These eight principles can guide training and professional support to build a sustainable rural physician workforce. Application of the principles, and coordinated action by stakeholders and the responsible organisations, are needed at national, state and local levels to achieve a sustainable rural physician workforce.

Is Australia's clinician scientist capacity appropriate for addressing the next pandemic?

Australia's clinical research communities responded quickly to COVID-19. Similarly, research funding to address the pandemic was appropriately fast-tracked and knowledge promptly disseminated. This swift and purposeful research response is encouraging and reflects thorough and meticulous training of the academic workforce; in particular the clinician scientist. Clinician scientists have formal clinical and research qualifications (primarily PhD), and are at the forefront of translating knowledge into health care. Yet in reality, advances in medical research are not rapid. Scientific discovery results from the long-term accumulation of knowledge. The drivers of this knowledge are often PhD students who provide new lines of clinical inquiry coupled with the advanced training of early- and mid-career researchers who sustain discovery through a clinician scientist workforce. A crucial point during these COVID-19 times is that this initial investment in training must be nurtured and maintained. Without this investment, the loss of a future generation of potential discoveries and a vibrant scientific workforce to safeguard us from future global health threats is at risk. This risk includes the modest gains achieved by increasing female and minority representation in STEM and the clinician scientist workforce. COVID-19 has presented serious concerns to Australia's health and economy. This perspective is central to these concerns and urges investment in the continuity of training and maintaining a sustainable clinician scientist workforce sufficient to address current and future pandemics, alongside continuing discoveries to improve the health of Australians.

Perfectionism as a mediator of psychological distress: Implications for addressing underlying vulnerabilities to the mental health of medical students.

OBJECTIVE: Medical students have personalities that are often shown to be perfectionistic. Perfectionism can manifest as maladaptive and lead to psychological distress. This study examined the mediating role of perfectionism on the association between personality trait profiles and levels of psychological distress. METHODS: First-year medical students completed a questionnaire containing measures of personality, perfectionism (Concern over Mistakes: CoM), stress, anxiety and depression. Latent profile analysis classified students based on their personality traits and identified a profile vulnerable to psychological distress. Structural equation models examined the mediation effects of perfectionism on the relationship between the vulnerable personality profile and distress. RESULTS: The sample totalled 376 (84% response). The vulnerable personality profile was highest in Harm Avoidance, lowest in Self-Directedness, and significantly correlated with the highest Perfectionism-CoM. High Perfectionism-CoM was associated with the highest levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Perfectionism-CoM was a significant mediator for the relationship between personality and higher levels of psychological distress. CONCLUSION: Certain personality profiles are predisposed to psychological distress such as anxiety, stress and depression. Perfectionism, as a mediator between personality and psychological distress, may be a target strategy to help increase students' self-acceptance, and self-awareness of their perfectionistic tendencies and lower their vulnerability to poor mental health.

Why is it so hard to consider personal qualities when selecting medical students?

Having 'good' doctors is important to everybody. How to select medical students better has been discussed repeatedly for more than seventy years, implying that prevailing methods could be improved. A significant body of research exists about selection methods and their application in medicine. Yet most medical schools world-wide continue to use prior academic performance and cognitive ability as their major criteria for selection, with minor or no consideration of personal qualities and interpersonal skills (possibly assuming they will develop naturally during training and practice). We describe the main methods available for assessing personal qualities of applicants to medical school and have attempted to identify some reasons and systemic disincentives working against their adoption.

Depression, anxiety and stress in a cohort of Australian dentistry students.

INTRODUCTION: Dentistry students face a challenging academic and clinical curriculum that can result in depression and anxiety. While studies usually report sources of stress for dentistry students, there is less information on levels of stress. This study used the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), to report perceived levels of depression, anxiety and stress in a cohort of Australian undergraduate dentistry students. METHODS: Students enrolled in years 1-4 of the Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) program at The University of Queensland were invited to complete the DASS-21 using an online questionnaire. Students completed the same questionnaire 1 year later. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean DASS-21 scores for this cohort (n = 179; females = 56%) were in the normal range for depression (4.69, SD 3.87) and stress (5.50, SD 3.65), and mild range for anxiety (4.25, SD 3.21). Overall, 24% (n = 42), 44% (n = 78) and 11% (n = 20) of students had moderate or above levels of depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. At 1-year follow-up, DASS-21 scores were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Dental students have higher levels of depression, anxiety or stress than the general population, indicating they may be at risk for greater psychological distress. The information from this study should guide curriculum and learning environment design, as well as interventions to support students through this challenging degree.

Temperament and character profiles of medical students associated with tolerance of ambiguity and perfectionism.

BACKGROUND: Certain personal attributes, such as perfectionism and tolerance of ambiguity, have been identified as influential in high achieving students. Medical students have been identified as high achievers and perfectionistic, and as such may be challenged by ambiguity. Medical students undertake a long and challenging degree. Personality has been shown to influence the well-being and coping and may equip some students to better cope with challenges. This paper examines the association between temperament and character personality profiles with measures of tolerance of ambiguity and with both adaptive and maladaptive constructs of perfectionism. METHODS: A self-report questionnaire collected data on a sample of 808 Australian medical students in 2014 and 2015. Personality was measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCIR-140) and classified traits as profiles using a latent class analysis. Two profiles were found. Profile 1 was characterized by low-average levels of Harm Avoidance, and high to very high levels of Persistence, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness. Moderately-high levels of Harm Avoidance and high levels of Persistence, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness characterized Profile 2. Moderation regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between the personality profiles with levels of Tolerance of Ambiguity (MSAT-II), Perfectionism-Concern over Mistakes and Perfectionism-High Standards (FMPS), considering demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Students with Profile 1 were higher in levels of Tolerance of Ambiguity, and Perfectionism-High Standards, and lower levels of Perfectionism-Concern over Mistakes compared to Profile 2. These findings remained statistically significant after adjusting for age and gender. A significant personality by age interaction on Tolerance of Ambiguity was found. While higher levels of Tolerance of Ambiguity were associated with older age overall, it remained low across age for students with a personality Profile 2. CONCLUSIONS: A particular combination of personality traits was identified to be associated with low Tolerance of Ambiguity and high levels of maladaptive Perfectionism. An intolerance of ambiguity and over concern about mistakes may be maladaptive and underlie vulnerability to stress and poor coping. The psychobiological model of personality provides insight into traits that are stable and those that can be self-regulated through education and training. The interaction between biological mechanisms and socio-cultural learning is relevant to a sample of medical students because it accounts for interaction of the biological or innate aspects of their personal development within an intense and competitive learning environment of medical school.

The personalities of most medical students are suited to rural practice: Implications for rural education program recruitment.

Introduction: The success of rural longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) programs has contributed to our understanding of selecting and training students for rural practice. Studies have explored the personality traits of students who participate in rural LICs although few have compared them with classmates who have not. The purpose is to compare personalities of four successive cohorts of students in the LIC Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) with their non-RPAP classmates. Methods: In a longitudinal cross-sectional design, medical students RPAP and non-RPAP, from 2013 to 2017 completed identical questionnaires comprising measures of personality, perfectionism, ambiguity tolerance, and resilience. T-tests, ANOVA, and post-hoc tests compared groups. K-means cluster analysis identified profiles of traits. Results: Total sample 286; RPAP = 128; non-RPAP = 158. Gender and age proportions were not different between groups. RPAP students were significantly lower in levels of perfectionism and higher in cooperativeness compared to non-RPAP classmates. Similar proportions of both groups were distributed across three personality profiles detected. Conclusions: Lower perfectionism implies advantages for rural practice. Nevertheless, similarities between groups suggest that most students would be successful in rural practice. More encouragement to all students may improve uptake of rural LICs. Greater attention to issues that affect decisions to explore rural medical education, particularly for our next generation of students, is required.

DREEM-ing of dentistry: Students' perception of the academic learning environment in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Continuous evaluation and improvement of the learning environment are required to respond to the changing nature of dental practice and dental education. This study aimed to describe a cohort of undergraduate dentistry students' perceptions of their learning environment. METHODS: Students enrolled in years 1-4 of the Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) programme at The University of Queensland were invited to complete an online survey which included demographics and the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). This scale measures students' perception of the educational environment overall, and for five domains: Learning, Teaching, Academic self-perception, Atmosphere and Social self-perception. Data analysis was mostly descriptive, t tests and univariate statistics compared groups. RESULTS: Participants (N = 192; females = 57%) were generally positive about their learning environment, with a total DREEM score of 127 of 200. Overall, Academic and Social self-perception domain scores were ranked lower than others. Students in preclinical years of study and/or had dentistry as a first career preference were more positive across all domains, except Social self-perception. CONCLUSIONS: Differences between the preclinical and clinical phases of the curriculum point to the structure of teaching and learning in health professional degrees. Further research should investigate how each environmental domain more specifically correlates with other aspects of the curriculum and student progression, including well-being. This could include logistical factors such as timetabling and its effect on physical well-being, to less tangible factors that may impact on mental well-being.