Mapping the Surgical Personality: A Scoping Review of Personality Traits in Surgical Education and Career Choice

The declining interest in surgical careers among medical students poses a challenge to the sustainability of the surgical workforce. While various structural and cultural factors have been identified—such as long working hours, rigid hierarchies, and concerns over work-life balance—the role of personality traits remains underexplored. This scoping review maps and synthesizes the existing literature on personality traits among surgeons, surgical trainees, and surgically inclined medical students, drawing on validated assessment tools such as the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). We identify key themes in the literature, including patterns in trait distributions, the influence of personality on specialty preference and training outcomes, and implications for educational interventions. Our findings underscore the potential of personality profiling as a tool for career counseling, mentorship, and burnout prevention in surgical education.