Aim of the study: Literature emphasizes a positive impact of emotional intelligence on interpersonal and communication skills, the doctor‑patient relationship, and the level of empathy. On the other hand, few research studies dealing with the correlation between emotional intelligence and medical specialty choice or preference are available. Our research was aimed at checking if there are differences in the ability to perceive and identify emotions according to facial expression (one of the dimensions of emotional intelligence) between students preferring different medical specialties. Method: The research involved 251 six‑year students of the Medical Faculty, Medical University of Łódź. The examined group consisted of 174 women (69.33%) and 77 men (30.67%). The subjects’ average age was 24.7 years. The surgical specialty was preferred by 44 women (28.21%) and 43 men (58.11%), non‑surgical by 112 women (71.79%) and 31 men (41.89%). The subjects were asked to fill in a questionnaire with demographic data (gender, age, preferred specialty) and the Emotional Intelligence Scale – Faces (SIE‑T) by Matczak, Piekarska and Studniarek. Results: Men significantly more frequently chose surgical specialty (58.11%), as compared to women (28.21%); chi²=19.08, p<0.001. No significant differences were found in SIE‑T results between women and men who study at the 6^th year of the Medical Faculty; _{Mann‑Whitney}U= 0.81, p>0.05. Similarly, no differences were found between the students preferring surgical and non‑surgical procedures; _{Mann‑Whitney}U= ‑0.93, p>0.05. Results: Male and female students of the Medical Faculty do not differ in the level of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence does not differentiate the students preferring surgical and non‑surgical specialties.

emotional intelligence, medical specialty, medical students, medical specialty preference, postgraduate education