Longitudinal development of different dimensions of perfectionism in undergraduate medical students with respect to their medical school admission procedure.

Daniela Vogel, Helen Seeliger, Sigrid Harendza
Author Information
  1. Daniela Vogel: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, III. Department of Internal Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
  2. Helen Seeliger: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, III. Department of Internal Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
  3. Sigrid Harendza: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, III. Department of Internal Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.

Abstract

The concept of perfectionism comprises high standards of performance as needed in medicine, but also concerns about making mistakes and dealing with social reactions about not being perfect. Perfectionism is associated with motivation and deep learning strategies but high expression of perfectionism has been found to be associated with symptoms of stress and anxiety in students. We aim to gain insights into the longitudinal development of different dimensions of perfectionism in medical students with respect to their way of medical school admission. At the Medical Faculty of Hamburg University, 167 undergraduate medical students completed validated questionnaires (MPS-H and MPS-F) of different dimensions of perfectionism and sociodemographic data including medical school admission procedures, personality traits (BSI-10 and GSE), and symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) at the start of their first year and at half term of their second year. On average, after controlling for baseline and age, a significant decrease (p≤0.05) in Self-Oriented Perfectionism was found during the first two years in students who were admitted after a waiting period (M: -12.57; 95% CI: [-21.94 - -3.35]), by other ways of medical school entrance (M: -6.36; 95% CI: [-12.71 - -0.02]), by multiple mini-interviews (HAM-Int) (M: -5.52; 95% CI: [-9.90 - -1.14]), and by a natural science test (HAM-Nat) (M: -3.41; 95% CI: [-6.71 - -0.11]. Waiting period students also showed a significant longitudinal decline in the scale Personal Standards (M: -4.62; 95% CI: [-8.04 - -1.21]. Since medical students from all admission groups except from the high school degree group showed a significant longitudinal decrease in Self-Oriented Perfectionism, high levels of aspects of perfectionism associated with intrinsic motivation or deep learning strategies could be included medical school admission processes. Additionally, particular attention needs to be paid not to induce a loss of intrinsic motivation or deep learning strategies during undergraduate medical education.

Keywords

References

  1. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7 [PMID: 16717171]
  2. BMC Med Educ. 2011 Oct 14;11:83 [PMID: 21999767]
  3. BMC Med Educ. 2017 Nov 13;17(1):206 [PMID: 29132334]
  4. BMC Med Educ. 2014 Mar 19;14:54 [PMID: 24645665]
  5. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1991 Mar;60(3):456-70 [PMID: 2027080]
  6. Lancet. 2009 Nov 14;374(9702):1714-21 [PMID: 19914516]
  7. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2018 Oct;64(10):902-908 [PMID: 30517237]
  8. GMS Z Med Ausbild. 2014 May 15;31(2):Doc21 [PMID: 24872856]
  9. GMS Z Med Ausbild. 2012;29(4):Doc56 [PMID: 22916082]
  10. Med Educ. 2016 Jan;50(1):132-49 [PMID: 26695473]
  11. Psychol Health Med. 2015;20(1):59-70 [PMID: 24628063]
  12. Dev Psychol. 2007 Jan;43(1):83-93 [PMID: 17201510]
  13. Z Evid Fortbild Qual Gesundhwes. 2012;106(2):125-30 [PMID: 22480896]
  14. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006;10(4):295-319 [PMID: 17201590]
  15. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2018 Feb;61(2):132-140 [PMID: 29256182]
  16. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2018 Feb;61(2):178-186 [PMID: 29294180]
  17. Med Educ. 2004 May;38(5):522-34 [PMID: 15107086]
  18. Med Educ. 2001 Nov;35(11):1034-42 [PMID: 11703639]
  19. Med Educ. 1998 Sep;32(5):456-64 [PMID: 10211285]
  20. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13 [PMID: 11556941]

MeSH Term

Adult
Education, Medical, Undergraduate
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Motivation
Perfectionism
Personality
School Admission Criteria
Students, Medical
Young Adult

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0medicalperfectionismstudentsschooladmissionM:95%CI:-highlongitudinalundergraduatePerfectionismassociatedmotivationdeeplearningstrategiesdevelopmentdifferentdimensionssignificantalsofoundsymptomsanxietyrespectpersonalitytraitsfirstyeardecreaseSelf-Orientedperiod-371-0-1showedintrinsiceducationconceptcomprisesstandardsperformanceneededmedicineconcernsmakingmistakesdealingsocialreactionsperfectexpressionstressaimgaininsightswayMedicalFacultyHamburgUniversity167completedvalidatedquestionnairesMPS-HMPS-FsociodemographicdataincludingproceduresBSI-10GSEdepressionPHQ-9GAD-7starthalftermsecondaveragecontrollingbaselineagep≤005twoyearsadmittedwaiting-1257[-219435]waysentrance-636[-1202]multiplemini-interviewsHAM-Int-552[-99014]naturalsciencetestHAM-Nat41[-611]WaitingdeclinescalePersonalStandards-462[-80421]SincegroupsexceptdegreegrouplevelsaspectsincludedprocessesAdditionallyparticularattentionneedspaidinducelossLongitudinalprocedure

Similar Articles

Cited By