How to provide tailored career coaching for medical students

PURPOSE: This study was performed to develop a counseling strategy, based on the profiles of medical students’ Strong Interest Inventory (STRONG) and Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) results, focusing on the three following questions: Into what distinct levels are students categorized by STRONG and MBTI? and What is the dispersion of the integrated profiles? METHODS: Freshmen students from Konyang University College of Medicine who matriculated between March 2011 and 2013 were administered the MBTI personality type test and the STRONG interest inventory assessment. The integrated profiles were categorized per Kim et al. (2006), and frequency analysis was performed with the collected data, using SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: Regarding MBTI types, 16.9% of students were categorized as ESTJ, and 12.9% was ISTJ. Further, 62.4% of students were Investigative (I) according to STRONG. The integrated profiles were divided into four types, according to their unclear/clear preference in the STRONG and MBTI results. Most students had ‘clear preference and clear interest’ (n=144, 80.9%), six students (3.4%) had ‘clear interest but unclear preference,’ and 28 students (15.7%) showed ‘unclear interest but clear preference.’ CONCLUSION: Using the combined results of the STRONG interest inventory assessment and MBTI tools, we can purvey more tailored information to students.