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Vol.7, Issue 6; November-December 2022; 

1252 Columbia Rd NW, Washington DC, United States 

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PERSISTENCE AND PERSONALITY IN DOCTOR OF PHARMACY 

STUDENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF CORRELATIONS 

 

 
Gregory Hudson, Emily Sheaffe, Ashley Robert, Jesse Shadowen, and Kimberly Mcnutt 
Dallas, Texas, United States 

 

 
Abstract: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality assessment tool that can be used to 

understand how individuals view the world and make decisions. The MBTI divides individuals into four 

dichotomies: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, feeling or thinking, and judging or perceiving. 

Persistence is the ability to take action in spite of difficulty or opposition. It is a key trait for success in pharmacy 

school, which is a challenging and demanding program. Individuals with high levels of persistence are able to 

overcome setbacks, failures, and other obstacles. They are also able to adapt to change and stay focused on their 

goals. 

Keywords: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Persistence, Pharmacy school, Success, Personality, Decision-

making, Stress, Coping 

 

 

Introduction  
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an assessment tool that allows individuals to answer questions using 
introspection about psychological preferences in how they view the world around them13.After completion of the 
questionnaire, the individual is placed into dichotomies. The dichotomies include introversion or extraversion, 
sensing or intuition, feeling or thinking, and judging or perceiving. Extraverts are action-oriented and are 
energized by frequent social interactions. Introverts tend to be thought-oriented and feel recharged after spending 
time alone. Sensing individuals tend to live in the moment and enjoy facts and details. Intuitives enjoy thinking 
of all the possibilities, fantasizing about the future and abstract concepts. Feelers are those who tend to make 
decision based on emotions, concerned about keeping harmony and may be seen as indirect. Thinkers tend to 
make decisions based on logic, enjoy technical and scientific fields and believe telling the truth is more important 
than being tactful. Judgers are individuals who prefer to have things planned out and orderly, appear to be task-
oriented and like to make lists of things to do. Perceivers are spontaneous and flexible, appear to be loose and 
casual, work in bursts of energy, and are able to go with the flow13.Persistence is being able to take action in spite 
of difficulty or opposition14.An individual may need a high level of persistence to overcome the immense 
workload that pharmacy school casts upon students. Every student will face failures, setbacks, unstable moods, 
and overwhelming obstacles, not only in the classroom but outside. Studies have found that individuals with high 
levels of persistence tend to be more successful8.They understand that failure is a part of the process.   
Instead of becoming emotionally frustrated, they calmly reflect on the event, logically analyze their mistakes, and 
learn to correct those mistakes. Mentally tough individuals will then develop a plan for how they will overcome 
their failure—even if they know that it could result in another failed experience—because they understand that it 
will only benefit them in the future. Mentally vigorous individuals understand that things will not go as planned 

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and will have to adapt to the ever-changing environment2. Overall, there is a multitude of traits that persistent 
individuals may use to help them overcome the obstacles in pharmacy school and become a successful student.  
There have been similar studies comparing pharmacy students and MBTI tests12, as well as pharmacy students 
and persistence levels9but those studies have not examined the combination of all three variables. With that being 
stated, the previous studies have found that students with higher levels of persistence have a strong correlation 
with higher GPA’s in pharmacy school6,9.One source indicates that the most suitable MBTI for pharmacy has 
been found to be ENTJ5.By conducting the research study on personality and persistence, the investigators hoped 
to find new statistical evidence about the correlation between McWhorter School of Pharmacy students’ 
personality traits and persistence levels. By analyzing the results and discovering correlations, the school could 
potentially develop early intervention strategies for future students who may need additional encouragement to 
overcome the program’s difficulty.  
Pharmacy school is a challenging experience for many students who enter this professional degree program. With 
the challenges presented by the level of education, each student will have varying ways of dealing with obstacles. 
Some students will enter the program already having anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders. 
Studies have found that a percentage of students will develop psychological disorders brought on by the stress of 
pharmacy school7.It is important to learn how to effectively cope with the added stress that pharmacy school 
brings. Being able to have adequate self-care and time management reduces the likelihood of developing 
depression. Another important factor is persistence levels. Students need a certain level of persistence to be able 
to push through the immense workload. If a student is unable to keep up and starts getting behind, stress levels 
will likely increase. If the study’s outcomes indicate trends, it would be beneficial to identify those who may need 
assistance based on certain personality traits. This could help increase students’ overall well-being and prevent 
the development of avoidable mental health disorders and course failures.   

2. Methods 
A Cross-sectional Qualtrics online survey was designed to collect data, categorize personality traits, and 
analyze persistence levels of McWhorter School of Pharmacy students. The survey included 10 multiple choice 
demographic questions and 53 questions on various topics to be assessed. The study was approved by the 
Institutional Review Board at Samford University. The survey was sent via an email link to eligible students, 
which were full-time students in the pharmacy graduating classes of 2021-2023. The survey was open for four 
weeks, with three reminders for completion. The results were recorded anonymously through the “anonymize 
response” feature in Qualtrics.  
Survey respondents first answered the demographic questions, which consisted of questions such as gender, age, 
and previous education. The personality questions contained in the survey were based on the MBTI and were 
piloted for accurately. Subsequent questions on wellness, PHQ-9, persistence, and Gallup Clifton Strengths® 
were developed based on general principles in the literature. These questions were also piloted.  
The voluntary survey allowed students to enter a to drawing with the chance of winning one of five $20 
Amazon.com gift cards or a hand sanitizer gift set. These items were used as an incentive to obtain an adequate 
number of student responses. The investigators were not allowed electronic access to the second survey to protect 
to anonymity of the participants. After the primary results were provided to the student investigators, Qualtrics 
was used to eliminate incomplete responses. Once the incomplete responses were eliminated from the data set, 
the investigators exported the final response set to Microsoft Excel and IBM’s Statistical Package for the Social 
Sciences for further analysis. A total of 179 students completed the survey. Descriptive data analysis was used to 
identify similarities and trends. The investigators primarily utilized the Chi-Square test and the Fisher exact test 
to determine statistical significance, independence, percentages, and p-value.  

3. Results  

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A Total of 179 survey responses were recorded. Of these, there were 57 males and 122 females. In addition, 
there were 24 students age 18-21, 104 students ages 22-25, 28 students age 26-29, and 17 students 30 years and 
older. The persistence scores ranged from a minimum of 19 to a maximum of 35. Of the 179 responses, the mean 
score was 27.58, which was categorized as an “inconsistent” persistence rating. 
Out of the 179 responses, there were 147 categorized as the introvert (I) trait and 32 categorized as the extravert 
(E) trait. The introvert and extravert trait both had results in all ratings of persistence. Frequency of I/E persistence 
rating can be found in Table 1.  
Table 1: Frequency of Reported Wellness Ratings of Introverts/Extraverts in Doctor of Pharmacy Students at 
McWhorter School of Pharmacy  

  Personality Traits  
  

Persistence Rating*  Introvert (n)  Extravert (n)  
Very Good  1.4% (2)  3.1%  (1) Good  42.2% (62)  40.6%  (13)  

Inconsistent    51.7%  (76)   53.1%  (17)  

Poor    4.8%  (7)    3.1%   (1)  

Total   100.0% (147)  100.0%  (32)  

*  Persistence Ratings:    

Very Good  = 35-40  

Good  = 24-29  

Inconsistent  = 23-28  

Poor   = 17-22  

Very Poor   = 00-16  
The next set of data analyzed was the sensing (S) and (N) traits. There were103 categorized as sensing and 76 
categorized as intuitive. Again, both traits covered all persistence ratings. The frequency of S/N persistence ratings 
can be found in Table 2.   
Table 2: Frequency of Persistence Ratings of Sensing/Intuition in Doctor of Pharmacy Students at McWhorter 
School of Pharmacy  

  Personality Trait  

Persistence Rating*  Sensing (n)  Intuition (n)  
Very Good  1.0%  (1)  2.6%  (2) Good  37.9%  (39)  47.4%  (36)  

Inconsistent    54.4%   (56)   48.7%  (37)  

Poor    6.8%   (7)    1.3%   (1)  

Total   100.0%  (103)   100.0%  (76)  

*  Persistence Ratings:    

Very Good  = 35-

40  

Good  = 24-

29  

Inconsistent  = 23-

28  

Poor   = 17-

22  

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Very Poor   = 00-

16  

  
One hundred six (106) responses were categorized as the Feeling(F) trait and 73 were categorized as the 
Thinking(T) trait. Overall, both traits covered all the rating levels. As with I/E and S/N, the most common rating 
was “inconsistent”. The frequency of F/T persistence ratings can be found in Table 3.  
Table 3: Frequency of Persistence Ratings of Feeler/Thinker in Doctor of Pharmacy Students at McWhorter 
School of Pharmacy  

  Personality Trait  

Persistence Rating*  Feeling (n)  Thinking (n)  
Very Good  1.4%  (1)  1.9%  (2) Good  43.8%  (32)  40.6%  (43)  

Inconsistent    53.4%  (39)   50.9%   (54)  

Poor    1.4%  (1)    6.6%   (7)  

Total   100.0% (73)   100.0%  (106)  

*  Persistence Ratings:    

Very Good  = 35-

40  

Good  = 24-

29  

Inconsistent  = 23-

28  

Poor   = 17-

22  

Very Poor   = 00-

16  

  
 Of the 179 responses, 136 were categorized as the Judging (J) trait and 43 as the Perceiving (P) trait. Judging 
individuals reflected all persistence rating levels. However, none of the Perceiving individuals scored in the “very 
good” persistence level. The frequency of J/P persistence ratings are listed in Table 4.   
Table 4: Frequency of Persistence Ratings of Judging/Thinking in Doctor of Pharmacy Students at McWhorter 
School of Pharmacy   

  Personality Trait  

Persistence Rating*  Judging(n)  Perceiving (n)  
Very Good  2.2%  (3)  0.0%  (0) Good  41.2%  (56)  44.2%  (19)  

Inconsistent    52.9%   (72)    48.8%  (21)  

Poor    3.7%   (5)    7.0%   (3)  

Total   100.0%  (136)   100.0%  (43)  

*  Persistence Ratings:    

Very Good  = 35-

40  

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Good  = 24-

29  

Inconsistent  = 23-

28  

Poor   = 17-

22  

Very Poor   = 00-

16  

Of the total 179 responses, 58 were male and 121 were female. Results showed that both male and females covered 
every level of persistence, but the majority of males scored with “good” persistence, whereas the majority of 
females scored with “inconsistent” persistence. The frequency of male and female persistence rating can be found 
in Table 5.  
Table 5: Frequency of Persistence Ratings per Gender in Doctor of Pharmacy Students at McWhorter School of 
Pharmacy  

  Gender  

Persistence Rating*  Male (n)  Female (n)  
Very Good    1.7%  (1)    1.7%   (2)  

Good    55.2%  (32)   35.5%   (43)  

Inconsistent    37.9%  (22)   58.7%   (71)  

Poor    5.2%  (3)    4.1%   (5)  

Total   100.0%  (58)   100.0%  (121)  

* Persistence Ratings:    

Very Good  = 35-

40  

Good  = 24-

29  

Inconsistent  = 23-

28  

Poor   = 17-

22  

Very Poor   = 00-

16  

4. Discussion  
The results indicated that 147 of the 179 response were introverts. This was more than expected. It could indicate 
a problem with the E/I personality trait questions and/or that survey responses were impacted by the statewide 
COVID-19 quarantine. During quarantine, many students who would normally classify as extraverts temporarily 
became more introverted because of the restricted social interactions. Other studies conclude that extraverts and 
introverts are equal when it comes to persistence levels, with extraverts having a little more persistence, possibly 
due to possibly having a stronger support system5,10. The results from this survey coincide with the studies 
suggesting that introverts and extraverts are equally persistent. 

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Next, the lead investigator hypothesized that intuitives would have a higher persistence level than the sensors. 
Intuitive focus on the future, while sensors focus on the present. The results reflected the investigator’s hypothesis: 
a greater percentage of intuitive than sensors scored as “very persistent”. When comparing feeling versus thinking 
trait, the results were fairly even across the board. The investigators hypothesis was that thinkers would have a 
higher level of persistence than feelers because they would be able to set aside their feelings and make decisions 
based on logic. This did was not the case with the results with feelers actually having a slightly higher percentage 
than thinkers.  
For the judging versus perceiving trait, the results showed more people scored as judgers than perceivers. This is 
reflective of the general population. Judging individuals had ratings in all levels of persistence, while perceivers 
did not have any ratings of “very good” persistence. While examining the biological genders, male and female 
results came back with an interesting find. There were more females than males in the study because that reflects 
the pharmacy school’s (and all pharmacy schools’) population. Results showed that males have a slightly higher 
persistence level than females, with males having a 55.2% “good” persistence rating and females having a 35.5% 
“good” persistence rating. This was further concluded with males having a 37.9% “inconsistent” persistence rating 
and females having a 58.7%“inconsistent” persistence rating. The p-value on this comparison was 0.073, so 
unfortunately it cannot be concluded as statistically significant. While some studies support these results of men 
having higher persistence than women, others do not11. There are more studies pointing towards women being 
better at handling adversity than men1,3,4.  
A strength of the study was the accessibility. The survey was easily accessed online which was a great attribute 
during quarantine. This contributed to a strong response rate, which was assisted by survey reminders and an 
incentive (drawing) for completion. The number of responses allowed for adequate data to interpret conclusions.  
The study can be generalized to young college students in professional or graduate programs. A limitation of this 
study was that results indicated a disproportionate number of introverts over extraverts. Another limitation of the 
study was the lack of statistical significance; there was no correlation p-value of statistical significance, meaning 
that the null hypothesis was accepted in every case. In a future study, the survey should be administered in a time 
without quarantine, which may more accurately reflect typical personalities. 
 

5. Conclusion  
Pharmacy school is a challenging experience for all students who are enrolled. Persistence is a key trait in 
overcoming the obstacles faced with in pharmacy school, workplace, and everyday life. This study was beneficial 
in allowing the investigators to see trends and relationships between the personality traits and persistence levels. 
Studies need to be more conclusive before developing early intervention techniques related to personality and 
persistence. Although, there was no statistical significance in these comparisons, this study was a good starting 
point for future studies.   

6. References  

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Barker, E. (2019, June 5). A Navy SEAL explains 8 secrets to grit and resilience. Ladders.com. Retrieved on 
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grit-andresilience  

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Fischbein, R, &Bonfine, N. (2019). Pharmacy and medical students' mental health symptoms, experiences, 
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Kelly, J. (2018, September 7). Habits of mentally strong people, and how they can help you succeed. Forbes.com. 
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