Is perfect good? - Dimensions of perfectionism in newly admitted medical students.
BACKGROUND
Society expects physicians to perform perfectly but high levels of perfectionism are associated with symptoms of distress in medical students. This study investigated whether medical students admitted to medical school by different selection criteria differ in the occurrence of perfectionism.


METHODS
Newly enrolled undergraduate medical students (n = 358) filled out the following instruments: Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS-H), Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS-F), Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7). Sociodemographic data such as age, gender, high school degrees, and the way of admission to medical school were also included in the questionnaire.


RESULTS
The 298 participating students had significantly lower scores in Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism than the general population independently of their way of admission to medical school. Students who were selected for medical school by their high school degree showed the highest score for Adaptive Perfectionism. Maladaptive Perfectionism was the strongest predictor for the occurrence symptoms of depression and anxiety regardless of the way of admission.


CONCLUSIONS
Students from all admission groups should be observed longitudinally for performance and to assess whether perfectionism questionnaires might be an additional useful instrument for medical school admission processes.
['Seeliger|Helen|H|', 'Harendza|Sigrid|S|']
D000328:Adult D001007:Anxiety D001077:Aptitude Tests D003863:Depression D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical D005260:Female D005858:Germany D006801:Humans D008297:Male D000072639:Perfectionism D010552:Personality Assessment D015203:Reproducibility of Results D012570:School Admission Criteria D012577:Schools, Medical D012649:Self Concept D013337:Students, Medical D055815:Young Adult
Perfectionism Big five Anxiety Depression Medical school admission Undergraduate medical education