choosing a specialty and personality type?

Nurses Career Support

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Myers-Brigg personality test....

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http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Hi Everyone..I thought it would be fun if we took the Myers-Brigg personality test and shared with everyone what our specialty is or what we hope to do (if not yet a nurse or want to change jobs). If you're confused maybe this can help. For example...as an INFP (introverted, intuitive,feeling, peceiving) I would be more suited to work in mental health, public health or oncology. I would not work out so well in the ER, OR or medical surgical. I knew all this but the description just makes me more confident that my intuition about myself was probably right on. HERE'S ANOTHER INTERESTING LINK TO CHECK OUT INFO ABOUT YOUR TYPE!!!! :)

http://www.personalitypage.com/info.html

I think it helps to get some insight to your natural temparament and to keep it in mind in choosing your work setting. I know it's not the end all and be all but it's a tool that can be used and it could be helpful. I hope others find this at least a little hepful.

I posted this before but it was moved to the breakroom so maybe this time it wll get a better response. I love this forum..you guys are great!

Specializes in TB nursing/ research.

Hi all,

I am ISFJ - any idea what type of nursing/ specialities are good for this type?

Thks a million!

;)

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Specializes in PMHNP.

I'm ISTP, introverted, sensing, thinking, perceiving. Does this mean I'm not in the right profession? I hate the nursing I was doing - havent found my niche.

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I can't remember my type exactly as I tend to test borderline. I'm definitely "I" in terms of needing alone time to juice my batteries. I've also had a hard time with finding a niche, so I'm curious what "I" types have found work for them.

I'm currently working for healthcare information company because floor nursing just drives me nuts with it's juggling act of ever changing needs and priorities. Other opportunities are very limited without that experience. I prefer having one patient to deal with at a time (but home health wants that floor experience for good reason) and I much prefer the patient education side of nursing as opposed to the task-based side. I also like having a strong support system behind me and in many Nursing Jobs you're more or less "on your own," after your initial orientation and too often are actively discouraged from asking "too many questions" (with comments like "use your own nursing judgement" and "you should've learned that in school").

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.

i n t p

strength of the preferences %

67 88 1 22

am supposed to be thinking about a career in:

science/technical

natural science

natural science education

information system specialist

computer programming

social service

lawyer (corporative)

librarian [yuck!]

work in the ed, maybe i should think about a career change. lawyer or scientist sounds good. but, i do like being in the same group as albert einstein-still have a poster of him hanging up that i got when i was a teenager (i think it's a thing for his hair :lol2: )

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I N T P

Work in the ED,

Do you like your work? What kind of ED is it (urban, rural, trauma center, etc)? Would you like to change? Do you think you'd like ER nursing in most any setting or just where you work? Have you worked other areas of nursing? How did you like it?

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Specializes in GI, OR, Oncology.
Is anyone an ISFJ? If so, what kind of nursing do you do? Like the last poster, I keep changing my mind. I like so many different areas. There is so much open to nurses now. Thanks.

Krisssy

Hi Krissy,

I'm an ISFJ and have worked in the OR for about 10 years now. I worked in the GI lab for a couple of years as a tech. I'm trying to get into oncology now - just feeling restless and want to try something new. I still love the OR (most days), but have always been interrested in oncology. What do you do?

Christine

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.
Do you like your work? What kind of ED is it (urban, rural, trauma center, etc)? Would you like to change? Do you think you'd like ER nursing in most any setting or just where you work? Have you worked other areas of nursing? How did you like it?

I love the actual work but abhor the pt to nurse ratios that jeopardizes patient safety and my license. We consistently have the halls filled with stretchers and chairs lined up in every free space for the patients that are waiting for ED beds (post-triage). The 12 hour shifts also seem to be taking a toll on this aging body. It doesn't help constantly getting the one day on, one day off schedule, with no more than 2 days off in a row.

This is a teaching hospital, level II trauma center in an mixed urban-suburban area of a major NE city (so the suburban part is probably equiv. to most urban area hospitals).

Don't know how I would handle a smaller hospital where you have to reach (and wait for) the admitting docs for orders. I came from a level I trauma center, so I have no experience with not having someone in-house (except for one of my ICU jobs where there were no attendings at night). Other than that, I enjoy ER nursing and probably could do it anywhere. I also did ICU nursing and enjoyed the actually nursing part, the lower nurse to pt ratios; but, the family dynamics and the loss of more than 35% of the patients really wore me down-that's why I wanted the ED (to avoid the emotional entanglement and not burn out from emotional overload).

So, got any suggestions?

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

I did my thesis on a derivation of this test and found that about 60% of nurses fall into the 4 "guardian" types. I guess most of us are guarding something, either people or money or materiel or something important to us. I could not break it down between nursing units, however, as I did not have enough subjects. I wanted to see if there is such a thing as "ER nurse personality" (or any other type nurse). Don't know if they have similiar personalities & choose ER on that account or if working in ER creates similar behaviors - maybe one of you guys will take up the torch and see what is out there!

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Specializes in home & public health, med-surg, hospice.

Hey Classicdame, that sounds really cool!

How did you propose that the information could be used to help the profession?

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Specializes in orthopaedics.

infj like eleanor roosevelt and ghandi;)

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, ER.

INTJ here - am an ER nurse

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I'm surprised how many "I" types work in ER. I'd think you'd need lots of recouperation time alone with so much interpersonal interaction at work. Is it the autonomy of the position, perhaps, that makes it a good fit for some "I"s? On a regular floor, the nurse perhaps has to consult more in order to get things done as opposed to just being able to go ahead and do it. Also, I get the sense that in the ER, the nurse's input is more valued than in some other settings, where the doc's may be more likely to feel hassled by the nurse's input. Thus, perhaps the floor nurse has to be more "in your face" and extroverted to be heard in the average bedside position than in the ER, making the ER more appealing to some "I" types. What do you think?

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