Comparing Physician Assistant Students' Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality Types/Learning Styles

Signature Grand, Davie, Florida, USA

Background. Professor and student awareness of learning styles reflected through personality types enable educators to better meet students’ needs. Purpose: To compare and self-verify student personality types and learning styles for differences as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Success Types Learning Style Type Indicator (STLSTI) in the Physician Assistant Program, as well as differences when MBTI results are compared to past students. Methodology. A self-selected, nonrandomized methodology was used to answer 5 research questions. Eighty-seven current students participated while 452 past students were reviewed retrospectively. Results. χ2 values used to answer research questions 1-4 were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The STLSTI concurrent validity was supported when it matched the MBTI on 3 of 4 dichotomous scale variables excluding judgment and perceiving (p < 0.05). ESTJ and ISTJ personality types predominated, as did the paired attitudes or functions for ST, SJ, TJ, and ES. Research Question 5 failed to reject the null hypothesis that indicated poor agreement. Conclusions. Differences exist in Class of 2008 student personality types and learning styles as measured by the MBTI and STLSTI, and when compared to past students. There are no differences when individually self-verifying personality type and learning style (STLSTI and MBTI). Metacognition uniting both teachers and students mutually based on personality types, learning styles, and teaching styles needs to be acknowledged as part of the new medical education curricula.