Brief Reports
Vol. 21 No. 3 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2025.13631

Personality, cognitive, and emotional factors in the emergency department: complementary physicians’ profiles

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Received: 14 January 2025
Accepted: 29 May 2025
Published: 18 June 2025
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Emergency physicians, decision-making profiles, risk evaluation, personality, medical education

Authors

Silvia Riva
silvia.riva@stmarys.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2153-0169
School of Allied Health and Life Sciences, St Mary's University, Twickenham, London, United Kingdom.
Alessandro Antonietti
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7212-8076
Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
Paola Iannello
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2736-2541
Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.

In the field of medical education, the growing challenges faced by emergency departments have underscored the importance of retaining and recruiting hospital emergency physicians. This study focuses on the role of personality traits, cognitive abilities, and emotional resilience in shaping the decision-making processes of emergency physicians operating under uncertainty. Forty physicians in Italy completed assessments and cluster analysis revealed two profiles: “Risk-Sensitive Evaluators” (N=23), who exhibited high risk perception (μ=8) and ambiguity anxiety (μ=6, i.e., discomfort and stress when facing uncertain or unclear clinical situations) and “Timely Outcome Oriented” (N=13), characterized by low regret (μ=2) and lower risk perception (μ=4). Statistically significant differences emerged between the clusters in risk taking and cognitive rigidity (p<.10). These findings suggest complementary strategies for managing emergency care and highlight the relevance of tailoring training to psychological profiles.

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Personality, cognitive, and emotional factors in the emergency department: complementary physicians’ profiles . (2025). Emergency Care Journal, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2025.13631
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