Attending to Self
The VITAL Profile
A Career Fit Instrument for Academic Physicians
This instrument measures five dimensions of professional identity and career fit. For each statement, choose the response that best describes your actual experience — not how you wish things were. There are no right answers; the most useful profiles come from honest, rapid responses. Plan for about 12 minutes.
- VVitality Pattern
Which kinds of work fill you up — and which slowly drain you. - IIdentity Construction
How actively you are constructing — not simply awaiting — your professional self. - TThriving Vision
How clearly you can envision what thriving looks like in your professional future. - AAffiliative Style
Where your interpersonal energy flows, and what kinds of relational work feel productive. - LLatitude Comfort
How well you function when success metrics, timelines, and feedback are self-defined rather than directed by others.
This instrument is descriptive, not prescriptive. Your profile describes patterns of energy, identity, and orientation — not your capability or potential. No dimension score represents a deficit.
Your VITAL Profile
A reading, not a verdict.
The three rings mark the boundaries between Low (0–8), Mid (9–15), and High (16–24) bands on each dimension.
The VITAL Profile measures five dimensions of professional identity and career fit for academic physicians. Each dimension is scored independently on a 0–24 scale, grouped into Low, Mid, and High bands. Three items are Pattern Clarifiers — forced-choice questions that are not included in any subscale total but add directional meaning to a dimension’s score.
This is a descriptive tool, not a prescriptive one. It reports how you are currently experiencing your professional life, not a verdict on who you are. Change the role, institution, or career stage, and the profile will change.