Personality in anaesthesiologists, a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: As a central part of their job, anaesthesiologists often have to perform demanding tasks under high-stakes conditions. Yet, some anaesthesiologists seem better able to deal with the demands of the profession than others. OBJECTIVES: This review aims to answer the following questions. What are the necessary or desirable qualities of an anaesthesiologist? Which personality traits or characteristics have been found in anaesthesiologists? How does personality relate to job performance and work stress among anaesthesiologists? DESIGN: Systematic review of studies that examined anaesthesiologists' personality or personality characteristics. We performed our synthesis in terms of the five-factor model of personality. DATA SOURCES: The search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases. Literature was included until December 2020. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included qualitative and quantitative studies that examined anaesthesiologists' personality; also, we included studies that focused on anaesthesiologists' stress, performance or mental health but only if these topics were examined from the perspective of personality. RESULTS: We included 6 qualitative and 25 quantitative articles. Synthesis of the qualitative articles revealed two classes of desirable technical and nontechnical personality characteristics. Synthesis of the quantitative articles suggested that anaesthesiologists do not essentially differ from other medical specialists. Moreover, our synthesis revealed several personality traits that predict good performance, low stress and good mental health among anaesthesiologists: lower Neuroticism, higher Extraversion, higher Openness and higher Conscientiousness. CONCLUSION: Those personality traits that predict performance, stress or mental health in anaesthesiologists, also predict performance, stress or mental health in other high demand/high stakes environments (both medical and nonmedical). The ideal anaesthesiologist would be lower on Neuroticism, higher on Extraversion and higher on Conscientiousness.

Occupational stress, burnout and personality in anesthesiologists.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There is a growing awareness of the problem of occupational stress and burnout among anesthesiologists. Occupational stress was found to be related to burnout, a process that is supposed to be moderated by personality. This article will discuss the topic of stress and burnout in relationship to anesthesiologists' personality based on recent literature. RECENT FINDINGS: Studies among anesthesiologists are in concordance with the broader body of literature on this topic. Personality consistently influences stress appraisal and coping and consequently the development of burnout. Neuroticism, negative affectivity and cooperativeness all contribute to burnout. SUMMARY: Strategies to alleviate stress and hence the development of burnout should not only be directed at adapting occupational or organizational factors but also at equipping anesthesiologists with psychological tools to deal with occupational stress. Furthermore, personality traits that predispose for development of burnout could be taken into consideration in resident selection procedures.