When personality profiles and leadership potential of psychiatric and medical-surgical nursing graduate students were compared, using the California Psychological inventory (CPI) and the Managerial Key for the CPI, medical-surgical majors scored significantly higher on the CPI scale (p > .05). Overall, both groups scored higher than the norm and showed a more optimal personality development than has been observed in earlier studies of this kind. In the Managerial Key for the CPI, the test of leadership potential on both groups received a high rating, comparable to that of the top-management group in the original research.