Establishing StrengthsFinder Norms for Veterinary Medical Students

The Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 is an online assessment administered by the Gallup organization. The assessment is intended to help individuals identify their greatest talents, and once identified, use that information to further develop one’s predominant strengths. Colleges and universities routinely administer the StrengthsFinder to students, but to date there is sparse literature presenting any results. Interestingly, academic disciplinary differences has been identified as the single most differentiating factor regarding members of an academic community. This is due to the strong influence of disciplinary norms, cultures and values that both attract individuals to a community and sustain members once a part of the community. Thus, the use of a standardized assessment with well-evidenced psychometric properties could be particularly useful for making comparisons about students’ attributes across these communities. This study sought to create a new line of research inquiry by exploring StrengthsFinder results and establishing an initial set of norms for students in the field of veterinary medicine. Substantive results found veterinary students’ most predominant strengths were Achiever and Learner, followed by Restorative, Input, Relator, Harmony and Responsibility. The five least common Signature Themes were Self-Assurance, Connectedness, Activator, Command, and Maximizer. Results from this study may be used to compare and contrast students’ predominant strengths and talents in other programs, particularly those in the medical and health professions.