Any INFP nurses out there?

[ijuanabhappy]

I am in my first semester of nursing school. I have a 95 average on the written tests but I hate clinical. Not because I am not caring, but because the instructions are vague and I feel awkward and out of my element. I have never worked hands-on with patients and I feel very awkward, especially with family members watching in the room. I also tend to like to take my time at doing things, and do them correctly. (An element of OCD there, I believe). I consistently test as an INFP on the Meyers Briggs personality tests. I think I border on the introvert/extrovert, but I am extremely sensitive. I am already almost 40 years old and trying to find my niche. Sad but true. I am extremely caring and think about other people's problems even when I come home. Should I go into something else instead of nursing? Are there any happy INFP's out there satisified with nursing and if so, what area do you work in? I am just trying to be honest with myself. I have always worked in the medical field in a clerical aspect. Or maybe I should give up nursing and write a novel since that is what INFP's are supposed to be best at? Just kidding. Okay, half-way kidding.

[VU RN BSN]

hello my fellow infps!

i've been an rn with my bsn for 5 years.

i want to leave bedside nursing and get out of clinical patient care.

for the infp personality type, which do you think is a better option to consider:

nursing informatics / healthcare informatics

or

case management / utilization review

????

[oohnurse]

for the infp personality type, which do you think is a better option to consider:

nursing informatics / healthcare informatics

or

case management / utilization review

????

for me, none. i probably choose informatics just because of introverted personality. you can pursue master in computer informatics. but i want other choices. i have never worked in utilization review but it seems so protocol-based. trying to apply clinical knowledge into informatics may be fun. you might get a chance to teach staff of new system. teach is a favorite career for infp, i think.

why don't you like bedside nursing as a infp?

[oohnurse]

I'm an INFP working in psychiatric nursing. I have a hell of a time with limit setting and drug seeking patients but these are both things that I'm becoming more aware of as time passes and I gain experience.

Dolcebellaluna, but do you think( "overall" )psychiatric nursing match your personality type more than other fields in nursing? That's why you still stick with it.

[pinkiepie_RN]

Dolcebellaluna, but do you think( "overall" )psychiatric nursing match your personality type more than other fields in nursing? That's why you still stick with it.

I think it's easier to empathize with patients in my speciality and use myself as a therapeutic tool. When I get the patients who are really invested in treatment, it's such a delight for me. I think psych nurses (at least in my experience) are more touchy feely than the nurse you might find in a different speciality.

Hope that helps!

[NetteNurse]

I'm glad I found this thread! I'm not a nurse, but I'm considering doing one of those accelerated BSN programs for people with a degree in a different field. I've an MA in psychology and I work in marketing research, but I really don't like it. I hate the business/bs aspect of the job, having to be 'sales-y' with clients. More importantly, I hate that I don't feel like I'm helping anybody in this job; it makes me feel like every day I'm wasting my life.

I've always been an INFP through multiple online tests and taking the MBTI in college. Just recently, I took it, and I'm a little closer to ISFP (I'm a researcher, so I think I've learned to be data-driven rather than intuition-driven). I'm wondering if nursing would be a good career for me, but I'm worried I'll be one of those people who excel in the classes, but struggle when it comes down to the reality of the clinical work and dealing with people in stressful situations.

As a whole, compared to other careers, do you think nursing is a good career path for INFP/ISFP? Seems like there are some issues with being extra sensitive and wanting to see the big picture. I expect I'll have that initially, but I do think that once I have the hang of the technical stuff, I'll be ok. It may take me a little longer given my introversion and hesitancy to jump right in, but I think I could get there. Overall though, I want to know if I should take this path. My heart keeps telling me to follow it, but my head is telling me I'm probably over-glamorizing how much I will feel like I'm helping people when I get to the reality of the work... I've been inquiring with nearby schools/hospitals about shadowing a nurse for a day to get a real feel for the day to day work. Any other suggestions/advise/feedback to help me make this decion? :)

[empathic nurse]

It's amazing how like minded us INFPs are. I was thinking if only I could realistically be self employed and write a book it would be a lot less stress for me! And what's more is I really think I'd do a great job as a writer! But I'm at the stage of my life where I need a steady income. I am hoping to find my niche after my graduate year. I am thinking about nursing that requires more psychological nouse; obviously mental health nursing, but maybe even sexual health nursing. I could work in a general practice setting, although at many health centres that requires a heck of a lot of skill at triage too so I think i'd like to get more experience in emergency nursing first. This is all hypothetical of course. I really believe I will get there with nursing and find my niche. I think perhaps general medical nursing just isn't for me long term though. Nursing is just such a broad area. I'll post on how I find my rotations once I've got through them.

Nice to know there are others in the same situation as me. Now I'm going to search all replies, as I want to get more ideas about my specialty too.

[ijuanabhappy, ASN, RN]

Okay, I start this post over three years ago and I am still stumped on what I should do. I tried Med-Surg/Cardiac floor (hated it), tried triage in clinic setting (okay but difficult feel like I had the knowledge base yet to answer the questions over the phone), and most recently NICU. NICU wasn't for me. I was too slow at learning the technical side and wasn't fast enough. Floor nursing in general is just not for me. Would an INFP be cut out for the OR as a circulator? Any thoughts. I know I probably would love psych/community nursing but don't know how to get my foot in the door without hospital experience.

[D_a_n_a_h]

I'm borderline INFJ, but I usually score INFP. I'm really glad I found a thread like this because I don't feel so alone in my struggles in working on the floor. Since nursing school, I always felt like I lacked in a clinical aspect. The only clinical rotations I enjoyed were in psych, but it did not stop me from giving acute care a chance. My first job out of nursing school was on an oncology floor, then med/surg floor. I lasted 11 months, but could not take the acuity, heavy patient load, and fast-paced environment, among other factors. I've been out of a job for several months and reevaluating my options. I really thought nursing wasn't for me so I looked into going for a master's in counseling or social work (as opposed to psych NP). I'm especially interested in doing individual therapy and group work because it'll allow me to interact with people on a deeper level. However, I put my decision to go back to school on hold so that I can explore psych nursing. I'm currently volunteering on a crisis hotline to make use of my spare time. It's helping me better my communication skills with depressed, suicidal, and mental health cases. I also recently participated in a workshop. It helped in theory review, but not so much in building up my technical skills. It's tough without the 2 years of psych experience most places seem to require, but I'm hoping to land a job soon. I'm looking into clinics, residential settings, group/youth homes, etc.

[sciencemama]

Hello to all my fellow INFP's,

I just finally took the MBTI again since I took it years ago in high school. I feel like an idiot not having taken it again when I started having issues. I felt the same way many of you talk about in nursing school. I loved psychiatry when I worked in the military as a RN. I loved my administration collateral that involved the restraint program. I did training, developed protocols and flowsheets, and then I analyzed my data using tools I developed and presented it to my hospital leadership. I also did mother-baby nursing. I loved the teaching aspect of it and I became very good at assessment. When I worked on a civilian floor I floated to the nursery quite often and offered to do newborn transitions so that I could keep up that skill. I was good at catching things with the newborns. The nursery tried to steal me from postpartum. I don't think I would have every been good at blood work or IV's with the babies. I was never good at dealing with things when they became an emergency. I always tried to prevent them because I couldn't deal with them. I was a nightmare in the ER. I couldn't get anything done in a timely manner. I tried to work on a medicine telemetry floor in a civilian hospital. First off, the floor was bad enough for them to shut it down for the JCAHO survey and reopen it exactly the same as it was after they passed the survey. I lasted 3 months before quitting that job. I told my husband to pray I didn't kill anyone each night before my shift. That is how frayed my nerves were.

I've been out of nursing for a while to pursue a family in the face of infertility. My miracle 4-year-old is going to be going to school full days soon enough. I found that as I am looking at going back to work that I am thinking of getting out of nursing all together. I felt guilty about it at first, but after taking the MBTI again and seeing posts like these, I think I am making the right decision. I am pursuing a MA in secondary teaching.

For all of you INFP's out there that are still sticking it out in nursing, my heart goes out to you. It is really hard. So much of what we have to be for nursing goes against our inner core. Psychiatric nursing does come more easily to us. I was put down by colleagues and family members for wanting to stay in psychiatry. I'd have stuck it out, but I saw in the civilian facilities that many psychiatric nurses had been reduced to transcribing doctors' orders and passing out medicine and their patient/nurse ratio didn't allow for much else. It is too bad that psychiatric nursing isn't valued more by even many psychiatric facilities. I wish all of you INFP's that stay in nursing the best. You're natural skills are very valuable even in a field that doesn't always have time or money for them. Good luck--sincerely.

[camiea]

argh, my first week on my own, post-orientation in ICU, and I got pulled out drug-tested and suspended without pay d/t med discrepancies. I just feel like I will never find my way in nursing. I tried home health and hospice but I found myself putting way too much time into it and it completely consumed my life. I am going back today for my meeting with bosses this morning to see if they even want me back at the hospital. I am thinking psych nursing is the next step for me. I dont think I can completely change my career and it sounds like psych might be good personality fit for our infp.