Anyone else the QUIET nurse?

Ginger80 · Mar 31, 2012

I think you and I are very alike in this way. I'm a quiet person (at work, haha!), but like you, I become more outgoing when I get comfortable around people.

I have never really seen this as an obstacle, or something negative.

Personally, I prefer quieter people- loud people grate on my nerves.

I like to think patients are more at ease having a nurse who's not yelling/speaking loudly/etc.

Being a great listener is a valuable trait in this profession.

Be yourself.

beckster_01, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2012

It is about quality, not quantity :)

I definitely hear you on the part about people who may not think you are as "good" of a nurse because you are quiet, I got that vibe when I first started as well. Fortunately it won't take long for your true colors to shine, and you don't have to point them in every person's face in order to do so.

In every job I have worked, it consistently takes me a good year before I truly act like myself around my coworkers. I know this about myself, and I know it is because I like to really know the people around me before I can be buddy-buddy with them. It is also because I need to feel proficient at my job before I can worry about socializing. Eventually your coworkers will begin to respect and trust you because of who you are.

angelalala · Mar 31, 2012

I'm the "quiet" everything. I'm a total introvert.

deftonez188 · Mar 31, 2012

Introvert as well - nothing wrong with that.

Something I read once that stuck with me after having multiple friends try to 'rescue me' from this 'problem,' "Open mouth, closed mind."

Nothing wrong with either type, only when one tries to convert the other :)

PetsToPeople · Mar 31, 2012

Yup, me to...I'm quiet until I need to be otherwise, then I have no problem speaking up lol. I have noticed the level of completely unnecessary noise among the nurses when I am at clinicals...yelling across the hall, obnoxiously loud laughing, talk completely unrelated to work that carries all the way down the hall. The hospital is a place of healing and the noise level should be at a minimum...can you imagine what would happen if a nurse had behaved that way in the halls that F. Nightengale patroled? I bet the other nurses scattered when she came around lol

SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS · Mar 31, 2012

Best part of being the float- avoiding the politics/backstabbing/gossip. Just doing your work, and then going home!

I used to be the quiet one, then I was a nurse for a long time, and now I'm not. Be yourself. :)

AnonRNC · Mar 31, 2012

One nurse I work worth comes to mind - she's very quiet...it took me about three years to figure out that she is a VERRRRRRY GOOOOOOD nurse.

Quiet is fine, but make sure you speak up enough so your precepters know that you know what you're doing.

Despareux · Mar 31, 2012

Only when I'm quiet, I can hear, and better assess my patients and those around me. I am also quiet and like being this way and have never felt comfortable sharing personal information with just anybody--It can take me a few years to feel comfy sharing personal info.

I'm not new to the workforce, but I do know from my own experience that, over time, you will be able to easily sift through those who are a better match for you socially.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2012

I was very quiet when I started and it was commented on often enough. now I am just another loud mouth at the desk, although I rarely share any personal info of my own, at least...............

littlekaneRN · Mar 31, 2012

I am the 'quiet' nurse. I always have been shy and quiet and I was that way through nursing school and at my current job. I have always found it to be a plus with the patients (especially in school on the floors) I don't have much time to connect with people now that I work in an office where we see 8 pt's an hour, but I am still quiet and polite.

I did, however, have one instructor in my last semester of nursing school who basically told me I would never make it as a nurse if I did not change. I was SO hurt by that because I had nothing but positive comments or at least positive criticism. I ended up having an instructor for LTC, my very last rotation, who told me she wasn't sure about me when we first met. She said as she was around me more often that just because you don't see the fire, doesn't mean you can't still smell the smoke. I told her what had been previously said about my personality and she urged me to never change. She said that patients and families would appreciate me for who I am. I believe that people did then and still do.

Be you.

Vespertinas · Mar 31, 2012

I'm loud, I speak up. I like to think that it's not to the point of being obnoxious. I also float. The other day, another loud(er) charge RN said to me, "I'm glad you're here today. You're a much stronger RN than _______ (the float RN who was working yesterday)." She meant it as a compliment to me but instead I was offended for that RN to whom she was referring. I know that other RN and although she is quiet, she is clinically strong and there is no reason to confuse our skills based on how much or how loud we talk. Granted, I am assuming that's how the charge arrived at her conclusion.

I like befriending quiet people. I've found many of my closest/most interesting friends this way.