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David Powis

The University of Newcastle, School of Psychology, Emeritus

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Phone: +61249215625
Address: School of Psychology, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, 2308, Australia

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Papers by David Powis

R Can personal qualities of medical students predict in-course examination success and professional behaviour? An exploratory prospective cohort study Background

by Don Munro, Jean Mckendree, and David Powis

Background: Over two-thirds of UK medical schools are augmenting their selection procedures for m... more Background: Over two-thirds of UK medical schools are augmenting their selection procedures for medical students by using the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT), which employs tests of cognitive and non-cognitive personal qualities, but clear evidence of the tests' predictive validity is lacking. This study explores whether academic performance and professional behaviours that are important in a health professional context can be predicted by these measures, when taken before or very early in the medical course.

Selection of medical students according to their moral orientation

by Don Munro and David Powis

Medical Education, 2005

Using Personal Quality Assessment for Selection of Social Work Students

by David Powis and Don Munro

Australian Social Work, 2007

Not moral "reasoning": A Libertarian - Communitarian dimension of moral orientation and Schwartz's value types

by Don Munro and David Powis

Australian Journal of Psychology, 2005

Personality factors in professional ethical behaviour: Studies of empathy and narcissism

by David Powis and Don Munro

Australian Journal of Psychology, 2005

Is it possible to assess the "ethics" of medical school applicants?

by Don Munro and David Powis

Journal of Medical Ethics, 2001

Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they ... more Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they are nevertheless important for medical schools to consider. It is probably inappropriate to attempt to assess medical school applicants' ethical knowledge, moral reasoning, or beliefs about ethical issues as these all may be developed during the process of education. Attitudes towards ethical issues and ethical sensitivity, however, might be tested in the context of testing for personality attributes. Before any "ethics" testing is introduced as part of screening for admission to medical school it would require validation. We suggest a number of ways in which this might be achieved.

Personality determinants of success in medical school and beyond: "Steady, sane and nice

by David Powis and Don Munro

An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performan... more An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performance and cognitive ability is proposed. Three personality variables are suggested as particularly important for the selection of medical students. These are conscientiousness, psychological health or resilience and involvement with others. A number of studies are reviewed that indicate support for the validity of these three variables in relation to medical school performance, the ability to resist stressful experiences and the ability to relate successfully to others in a professional career. We also present the results from the administration of an experimental instrument to 606 medical and other students. Factor analysis identified two broad-spectrum variables, conscientiousness/control and psychological stability. It is proposed that predictive validity research be conducted on these two variables, in conjunction with a previously reported measure of involvement versus detachment.

Graduate entry to medicine: widening psychological diversity

by Don Munro and David Powis

BMC Medical Education, 2009

Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical ... more Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical course are school leavers. Since 2003 we have admitted graduate entrants (GEM) to a shortened (4-year) course to 'widen access to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds'. We have recently shown that the GEM course widens academic and socio-demographic diversity of the medical student population. This study explored whether GEM students also bring psychological diversity and whether this could be beneficial.

Comparing the cognitive, personality and moral characteristics of high school and graduate medical entrants to the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran

by Don Munro and David Powis

Medical Teacher, 2013

Background: Tehran University of Medical Sciences has two streams of medical student admission: a... more Background: Tehran University of Medical Sciences has two streams of medical student admission: an established high school entry (HSE) route and an experimental graduate entry (GE) route. Aim: To compare the cognitive skills, personality traits and moral characteristics of HSE and GE students admitted to this university. Methods: The personal qualities assessment tool (PQA; www.pqa.net.au) was translated from English to Persian and then backtranslated. Afterwards 35 individuals from the GE and 109 individuals from the 2007 to 2008 HSE completed the test. The results were compared by t-test and Chi-square. Results: The HSE students showed significantly higher ability in the cognitive skills tests ( p 5 0.001). They were also more libertarian ( p ¼ 0.022), but had lower ability to confront stress and unpleasant events ( p 5 0.001), and had lower self-awareness and self-control ( p 5 0.001). Conclusion: On the basis of their personal qualities, the GE students had more self-control and strength when coping with stress than the HSE students, but the latter had superior cognitive abilities. Hence it may be useful to include cognitive tests in GE students' entry exam and include tests of personal qualities to exclude those with unsuitable characteristics.

Graduate entry to medicine: widening psychological diversity

by Don Munro and David Powis

Bmc Medical Education, Nov 1, 2009

Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical ... more Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical course are school leavers. Since 2003 we have admitted graduate entrants (GEM) to a shortened (4-year) course to 'widen access to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds'. We have recently shown that the GEM course widens academic and socio-demographic diversity of the medical student population. This study explored whether GEM students also bring psychological diversity and whether this could be beneficial.

Predictors of professional behaviour and academic outcomes in a UK medical school: A longitudinal cohort study

by Don Munro, Jean Mckendree, and David Powis

Medical Teacher, 2015

Background: Over the past 70 years, there has been a recurring debate in the literature and in th... more Background: Over the past 70 years, there has been a recurring debate in the literature and in the popular press about how best to select medical students. This implies that we are still not getting it right: either some students are unsuited to medicine or the graduating doctors are considered unsatisfactory, or both. Aim: To determine whether particular variables at the point of selection might distinguish those more likely to become satisfactory professional doctors, by following a complete intake cohort of students throughout medical school and analysing all the data used for the students' selection, their performance on a range of other potential selection tests, academic and clinical assessments throughout their studies, and records of professional behaviour covering the entire five years of the course. Methods: A longitudinal database captured the following anonymised information for every student (n ¼ 146) admitted in 2007 to the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) in the UK: demographic data (age, sex, citizenship); performance in each component of the selection procedure; performance in some other possible selection instruments (cognitive and non-cognitive psychometric tests); professional behaviour in tutorials and in other clinical settings; academic performance, clinical and communication skills at summative assessments throughout; professional behaviour lapses monitored routinely as part of the fitness-to-practise procedures. Correlations were sought between predictor variables and criterion variables chosen to demonstrate the full range of course outcomes from failure to complete the course to graduation with honours, and to reveal clinical and professional strengths and weaknesses. Results: Student demography was found to be an important predictor of outcomes, with females, younger students and British citizens performing better overall. The selection variable ''HYMS academic score'', based on prior academic performance, was a significant predictor of components of Year 4 written and Year 5 clinical examinations. Some cognitive subtest scores from the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) and the UKCAT total score were also significant predictors of the same components, and a unique predictor of the Year 5 written examination. A number of the non-cognitive tests were significant independent predictors of Years 4 and 5 clinical performance, and of lapses in professional behaviour. First-and second-year tutor ratings were significant predictors of all outcomes, both desirable and undesirable. Performance in Years 1 and 2 written exams did not predict performance in Year 4 but did generally predict Year 5 written and clinical performance. Conclusions: Measures of a range of relevant selection attributes and personal qualities can predict intermediate and end of course achievements in academic, clinical and professional behaviour domains. In this study HYMS academic score, some UKCAT subtest scores and the total UKCAT score, and some non-cognitive tests completed at the outset of studies, together predicted outcomes most comprehensively. Tutor evaluation of students early in the course also identified the more and less successful students in the three domains of academic, clinical and professional performance. These results may be helpful in informing the future development of selection tools.

Trial use of the Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) in the entrance examination of a Japanese medical university: similarities to the results in western countries

by Fukui Yuriko, Don Munro, Yuriko Fukui, and David Powis

Teaching and learning in medicine, 2014

The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA), developed by the University of Newcastle, Australia to a... more The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA), developed by the University of Newcastle, Australia to assess the aptitude of future medical professionals, has been used in Western countries. The objective was to investigate whether the PQA is appropriate for Japanese medical school applicants. Two of the PQA tests, Libertarian-Dual-Communitarian moral orientations (Mojac) and Narcissism, Aloofness, Confidence, and Empathy (NACE), were translated into Japanese, and administered at the Tokyo Women's Medical University entrance examinations from 2007 to 2009. The distributions of the applicants' Mojac and NACE scores were close to the normal distribution, and the mean scores did not exhibit a large difference from those in Western countries. The only significant difference was that the mean score of the NACE test was slightly lower than the Western norm. The translated PQA tests may be appropriate for use with Japanese applicants, though further research considering cultural differen...

Selecting medical students: Evidence based admissions procedures for medical students are being tested

by David Powis and Don Munro

BMJ, 2006

Using Personal Qualities Assessment to Measure the Moral Orientation and Personal Qualities of Medical Students in a Non-Western Culture

by Don Munro and David Powis

Evaluation & the Health Professions, 2013

How to select candidates with appropriate personal qualities for medical school is an important i... more How to select candidates with appropriate personal qualities for medical school is an important issue. This study examined the psychometric properties and group differences of the Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) to test the feasibility of using it as a tool to assess the medical school applicants in a non-Western culture. Seven hundred forty-six medical students in Taiwan completed two psychometric measures: Mojac to assess moral orientation and NACE to assess four aspects of interpersonal relationships. Thirty-one students completed the tests twice to establish test-retest reliability. A subsample of 127 students also completed a measure of the ''Big Five'' personality traits to examine the construct validity of these scales. Both Mojac and NACE had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Conceptually, coherent and significant relationships were observed between test components and between the NACE and Big Five. NACE but not Mojac varied significantly between different sociodemographic groups. Both tests demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. However, the predictive validity of PQA requires future studies.

Predictive validity of the personal qualities assessment for selection of medical students in Scotland

by Jon Dowell, Don Munro, and David Powis

Medical Teacher, 2011

Background: The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) was developed to enhance medical student sele... more Background: The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) was developed to enhance medical student selection by measuring a range of non-cognitive attributes in the applicants to medical school. Applicants to the five Scottish medical schools were invited to pilot the test in 2001 and 2002. Aims: To evaluate the predictive validity of PQA for selecting medical students. Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in which PQA scores were compared with senior year medical school performance.

Using personal qualities assessment for selection of social work students

by David Powis and Don Munro

Australian Social Work

Faking good: self enhancement by medical school applicants during assessment of their personal qualities

by David Powis and Don Munro

Faking good: self-enhancement by medical school applicants during assessment of their personal qu... more

Pitfalls in using referee rating scales for postgraduate medical selection: they can be reliable but not valid

by David Powis and Don Munro

Pitfalls in using referee rating scales for postgraduate medical selection: they can be reliable ... more

Is it possible to assess the "ethics" of medical school applicants?

by Don Munro and David Powis

Journal of Medical Ethics, 2002

Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they ... more Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they are nevertheless important for medical schools to consider. It is probably inappropriate to attempt to assess medical school applicants' ethical knowledge, moral reasoning, or beliefs about ethical issues as these all may be developed during the process of education. Attitudes towards ethical issues and ethical sensitivity, however, might be tested in the context of testing for personality attributes. Before any "ethics" testing is introduced as part of screening for admission to medical school it would require validation. We suggest a number of ways in which this might be achieved.

Personality determinants of success in medical school and beyond: "Steady, sane and nice

by David Powis and Don Munro

An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performan... more An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performance and cognitive ability is proposed. Three personality variables are suggested as particularly important for the selection of medical students. These are conscientiousness, psychological health or resilience and involvement with others. A number of studies are reviewed that indicate support for the validity of these three variables in relation to medical school performance, the ability to resist stressful experiences and the ability to relate successfully to others in a professional career. We also present the results from the administration of an experimental instrument to 606 medical and other students. Factor analysis identified two broadspectrum variables, conscientiousness/control and psychological stability. It is proposed that predictive validity research be conducted on these two variables, in conjunction with a previously reported measure of involvement versus detachment.

R Can personal qualities of medical students predict in-course examination success and professional behaviour? An exploratory prospective cohort study Background

by Don Munro, Jean Mckendree, and David Powis

Background: Over two-thirds of UK medical schools are augmenting their selection procedures for m... more Background: Over two-thirds of UK medical schools are augmenting their selection procedures for medical students by using the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT), which employs tests of cognitive and non-cognitive personal qualities, but clear evidence of the tests' predictive validity is lacking. This study explores whether academic performance and professional behaviours that are important in a health professional context can be predicted by these measures, when taken before or very early in the medical course.

Selection of medical students according to their moral orientation

by Don Munro and David Powis

Medical Education, 2005

Using Personal Quality Assessment for Selection of Social Work Students

by David Powis and Don Munro

Australian Social Work, 2007

Not moral "reasoning": A Libertarian - Communitarian dimension of moral orientation and Schwartz's value types

by Don Munro and David Powis

Australian Journal of Psychology, 2005

Personality factors in professional ethical behaviour: Studies of empathy and narcissism

by David Powis and Don Munro

Australian Journal of Psychology, 2005

Is it possible to assess the "ethics" of medical school applicants?

by Don Munro and David Powis

Journal of Medical Ethics, 2001

Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they ... more Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they are nevertheless important for medical schools to consider. It is probably inappropriate to attempt to assess medical school applicants' ethical knowledge, moral reasoning, or beliefs about ethical issues as these all may be developed during the process of education. Attitudes towards ethical issues and ethical sensitivity, however, might be tested in the context of testing for personality attributes. Before any "ethics" testing is introduced as part of screening for admission to medical school it would require validation. We suggest a number of ways in which this might be achieved.

Personality determinants of success in medical school and beyond: "Steady, sane and nice

by David Powis and Don Munro

An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performan... more An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performance and cognitive ability is proposed. Three personality variables are suggested as particularly important for the selection of medical students. These are conscientiousness, psychological health or resilience and involvement with others. A number of studies are reviewed that indicate support for the validity of these three variables in relation to medical school performance, the ability to resist stressful experiences and the ability to relate successfully to others in a professional career. We also present the results from the administration of an experimental instrument to 606 medical and other students. Factor analysis identified two broad-spectrum variables, conscientiousness/control and psychological stability. It is proposed that predictive validity research be conducted on these two variables, in conjunction with a previously reported measure of involvement versus detachment.

Graduate entry to medicine: widening psychological diversity

by Don Munro and David Powis

BMC Medical Education, 2009

Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical ... more Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical course are school leavers. Since 2003 we have admitted graduate entrants (GEM) to a shortened (4-year) course to 'widen access to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds'. We have recently shown that the GEM course widens academic and socio-demographic diversity of the medical student population. This study explored whether GEM students also bring psychological diversity and whether this could be beneficial.

Comparing the cognitive, personality and moral characteristics of high school and graduate medical entrants to the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran

by Don Munro and David Powis

Medical Teacher, 2013

Background: Tehran University of Medical Sciences has two streams of medical student admission: a... more Background: Tehran University of Medical Sciences has two streams of medical student admission: an established high school entry (HSE) route and an experimental graduate entry (GE) route. Aim: To compare the cognitive skills, personality traits and moral characteristics of HSE and GE students admitted to this university. Methods: The personal qualities assessment tool (PQA; www.pqa.net.au) was translated from English to Persian and then backtranslated. Afterwards 35 individuals from the GE and 109 individuals from the 2007 to 2008 HSE completed the test. The results were compared by t-test and Chi-square. Results: The HSE students showed significantly higher ability in the cognitive skills tests ( p 5 0.001). They were also more libertarian ( p ¼ 0.022), but had lower ability to confront stress and unpleasant events ( p 5 0.001), and had lower self-awareness and self-control ( p 5 0.001). Conclusion: On the basis of their personal qualities, the GE students had more self-control and strength when coping with stress than the HSE students, but the latter had superior cognitive abilities. Hence it may be useful to include cognitive tests in GE students' entry exam and include tests of personal qualities to exclude those with unsuitable characteristics.

Graduate entry to medicine: widening psychological diversity

by Don Munro and David Powis

Bmc Medical Education, Nov 1, 2009

Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical ... more Background: At Nottingham University more than 95% of entrants to the traditional 5-year medical course are school leavers. Since 2003 we have admitted graduate entrants (GEM) to a shortened (4-year) course to 'widen access to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds'. We have recently shown that the GEM course widens academic and socio-demographic diversity of the medical student population. This study explored whether GEM students also bring psychological diversity and whether this could be beneficial.

Predictors of professional behaviour and academic outcomes in a UK medical school: A longitudinal cohort study

by Don Munro, Jean Mckendree, and David Powis

Medical Teacher, 2015

Background: Over the past 70 years, there has been a recurring debate in the literature and in th... more Background: Over the past 70 years, there has been a recurring debate in the literature and in the popular press about how best to select medical students. This implies that we are still not getting it right: either some students are unsuited to medicine or the graduating doctors are considered unsatisfactory, or both. Aim: To determine whether particular variables at the point of selection might distinguish those more likely to become satisfactory professional doctors, by following a complete intake cohort of students throughout medical school and analysing all the data used for the students' selection, their performance on a range of other potential selection tests, academic and clinical assessments throughout their studies, and records of professional behaviour covering the entire five years of the course. Methods: A longitudinal database captured the following anonymised information for every student (n ¼ 146) admitted in 2007 to the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) in the UK: demographic data (age, sex, citizenship); performance in each component of the selection procedure; performance in some other possible selection instruments (cognitive and non-cognitive psychometric tests); professional behaviour in tutorials and in other clinical settings; academic performance, clinical and communication skills at summative assessments throughout; professional behaviour lapses monitored routinely as part of the fitness-to-practise procedures. Correlations were sought between predictor variables and criterion variables chosen to demonstrate the full range of course outcomes from failure to complete the course to graduation with honours, and to reveal clinical and professional strengths and weaknesses. Results: Student demography was found to be an important predictor of outcomes, with females, younger students and British citizens performing better overall. The selection variable ''HYMS academic score'', based on prior academic performance, was a significant predictor of components of Year 4 written and Year 5 clinical examinations. Some cognitive subtest scores from the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) and the UKCAT total score were also significant predictors of the same components, and a unique predictor of the Year 5 written examination. A number of the non-cognitive tests were significant independent predictors of Years 4 and 5 clinical performance, and of lapses in professional behaviour. First-and second-year tutor ratings were significant predictors of all outcomes, both desirable and undesirable. Performance in Years 1 and 2 written exams did not predict performance in Year 4 but did generally predict Year 5 written and clinical performance. Conclusions: Measures of a range of relevant selection attributes and personal qualities can predict intermediate and end of course achievements in academic, clinical and professional behaviour domains. In this study HYMS academic score, some UKCAT subtest scores and the total UKCAT score, and some non-cognitive tests completed at the outset of studies, together predicted outcomes most comprehensively. Tutor evaluation of students early in the course also identified the more and less successful students in the three domains of academic, clinical and professional performance. These results may be helpful in informing the future development of selection tools.

Trial use of the Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) in the entrance examination of a Japanese medical university: similarities to the results in western countries

by Fukui Yuriko, Don Munro, Yuriko Fukui, and David Powis

Teaching and learning in medicine, 2014

The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA), developed by the University of Newcastle, Australia to a... more The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA), developed by the University of Newcastle, Australia to assess the aptitude of future medical professionals, has been used in Western countries. The objective was to investigate whether the PQA is appropriate for Japanese medical school applicants. Two of the PQA tests, Libertarian-Dual-Communitarian moral orientations (Mojac) and Narcissism, Aloofness, Confidence, and Empathy (NACE), were translated into Japanese, and administered at the Tokyo Women's Medical University entrance examinations from 2007 to 2009. The distributions of the applicants' Mojac and NACE scores were close to the normal distribution, and the mean scores did not exhibit a large difference from those in Western countries. The only significant difference was that the mean score of the NACE test was slightly lower than the Western norm. The translated PQA tests may be appropriate for use with Japanese applicants, though further research considering cultural differen...

Selecting medical students: Evidence based admissions procedures for medical students are being tested

by David Powis and Don Munro

BMJ, 2006

Using Personal Qualities Assessment to Measure the Moral Orientation and Personal Qualities of Medical Students in a Non-Western Culture

by Don Munro and David Powis

Evaluation & the Health Professions, 2013

How to select candidates with appropriate personal qualities for medical school is an important i... more How to select candidates with appropriate personal qualities for medical school is an important issue. This study examined the psychometric properties and group differences of the Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) to test the feasibility of using it as a tool to assess the medical school applicants in a non-Western culture. Seven hundred forty-six medical students in Taiwan completed two psychometric measures: Mojac to assess moral orientation and NACE to assess four aspects of interpersonal relationships. Thirty-one students completed the tests twice to establish test-retest reliability. A subsample of 127 students also completed a measure of the ''Big Five'' personality traits to examine the construct validity of these scales. Both Mojac and NACE had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Conceptually, coherent and significant relationships were observed between test components and between the NACE and Big Five. NACE but not Mojac varied significantly between different sociodemographic groups. Both tests demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. However, the predictive validity of PQA requires future studies.

Predictive validity of the personal qualities assessment for selection of medical students in Scotland

by Jon Dowell, Don Munro, and David Powis

Medical Teacher, 2011

Background: The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) was developed to enhance medical student sele... more Background: The Personal Qualities Assessment (PQA) was developed to enhance medical student selection by measuring a range of non-cognitive attributes in the applicants to medical school. Applicants to the five Scottish medical schools were invited to pilot the test in 2001 and 2002. Aims: To evaluate the predictive validity of PQA for selecting medical students. Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in which PQA scores were compared with senior year medical school performance.

Using personal qualities assessment for selection of social work students

by David Powis and Don Munro

Australian Social Work

Faking good: self enhancement by medical school applicants during assessment of their personal qualities

by David Powis and Don Munro

Faking good: self-enhancement by medical school applicants during assessment of their personal qu... more

Pitfalls in using referee rating scales for postgraduate medical selection: they can be reliable but not valid

by David Powis and Don Munro

Pitfalls in using referee rating scales for postgraduate medical selection: they can be reliable ... more

Is it possible to assess the "ethics" of medical school applicants?

by Don Munro and David Powis

Journal of Medical Ethics, 2002

Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they ... more Questions surrounding the assessment of medical school applicants' morality are diYcult but they are nevertheless important for medical schools to consider. It is probably inappropriate to attempt to assess medical school applicants' ethical knowledge, moral reasoning, or beliefs about ethical issues as these all may be developed during the process of education. Attitudes towards ethical issues and ethical sensitivity, however, might be tested in the context of testing for personality attributes. Before any "ethics" testing is introduced as part of screening for admission to medical school it would require validation. We suggest a number of ways in which this might be achieved.

Personality determinants of success in medical school and beyond: "Steady, sane and nice

by David Powis and Don Munro

An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performan... more An extension of medical school selection from its current emphasis on previous academic performance and cognitive ability is proposed. Three personality variables are suggested as particularly important for the selection of medical students. These are conscientiousness, psychological health or resilience and involvement with others. A number of studies are reviewed that indicate support for the validity of these three variables in relation to medical school performance, the ability to resist stressful experiences and the ability to relate successfully to others in a professional career. We also present the results from the administration of an experimental instrument to 606 medical and other students. Factor analysis identified two broadspectrum variables, conscientiousness/control and psychological stability. It is proposed that predictive validity research be conducted on these two variables, in conjunction with a previously reported measure of involvement versus detachment.