Is Anyone A Highly Sensitive Nurse?

Published

If so how was your experience?

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I hear you about food textures. Anything slimy makes me gag, hence I don't eat oysters or fat on meats. I'm also sensitive to bitter and sour tastes, tags in clothing, straps on sandals, and repetitive sounds.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.
Great Thread!!! We (non-academic educators) usually find it very frustrating when we are faced with fragile nurses who seem to decompensate when confronted with even the teensiest bit of adversity...... AKA - she's crying in the supply room again. This research seems to provide a model/frame of reference for understanding & helping them deal with the realities of the workplace. Maybe even helping them find a work setting that is best suited to their temperaments.

Thanks for all the information and insight.

Being a HSP doesn't indicate a lack of resilience, that's a separate trait. It isn't the same as shyness, fragility, introversion, anxiety or PTSD. Crying in cupboards could mean a wide range of things. I have loads of the stuff on the tick list and have been like it since being a child, whatever you call it I just accept it as part of my personality. It doesn't mean I'm not tough or can't work in any environment I want to.

As has been said it benefits me greatly as a nurse. I pick up pain or discomfort quickly and can help correct if it is an environmental factor. I pick up deterioration early and patients rarely code under my care as I am highly alert to initial warning signs. As cani says, it is irritating because sometimes I can let the Dr's know the small signs but they won't respond at this stage.

I do over identify with pain and distress and experience very unpleasant physical and mental sensations until my patient's pain is under control. Dealing with others' grief is something I have had to learn to manage. I have to do stuff like visualising scissors cutting an imaginary ribbon connecting me to the grieving patients or relative so that I can be there for them properly. Really firm boundaries and leaving work concerns at work is something I've only managed recently. Out of preference I'd have break time on my own, out of wishing to not appear snooty I have break in the communal area. I NEED my downtime/ alone time and my performance drops if I don't get it. Everything happening at once is not the easiest- I tend to evaluate those situations afterwards, break them down into their component parts and then the next time I can look like i'm a-okay.

Pro's and con's. IMO, with adjustments, it makes me personally a better nurse. I hope so!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I grew up in the country with three brothers, cows, pigs, mules, dog, chicken, and cat crap, loud music, cap, BB, and pellet guns, and everyday catastrophes. HSP? Not a chance!:D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Being a HSP doesn't indicate a lack of resilience, that's a separate trait. It isn't the same as shyness, fragility, introversion, anxiety or PTSD. Crying in cupboards could mean a wide range of things. I have loads of the stuff on the tick list and have been like it since being a child, whatever you call it I just accept it as part of my personality. It doesn't mean I'm not tough or can't work in any environment I want to.

As has been said it benefits me greatly as a nurse. I pick up pain or discomfort quickly and can help correct if it is an environmental factor. I pick up deterioration early and patients rarely code under my care as I am highly alert to initial warning signs. As cani says, it is irritating because sometimes I can let the Dr's know the small signs but they won't respond at this stage.

Yes yes yes. Being sensitive does not mean we aren't resilient.

I've never had my own patient code, but there have been several times when I couldn't turn off the vague but persistent feeling that Something Wasn't Right even though there was no change in assessment, VS - nothing yet concrete, and something eventually went wrong with those patients. I am not a superstitious person - I believe that "gut feelings" are based on observations that we have difficulty articulating.

P.S. It's not snooty to need a break on your own. If your coworkers make a big deal out of it, maybe pick and choose the days where you need it most. I never had such an un-break-like break as at my last job: coworkers would talk at you if your breaks overlapped, the case workers would hunt you down to come talk to you about discharges, the unit manager would come in and accost you about some unit plan, other departments would call you on your employee phone... It wasn't even a break. I'd go to the empty conference room down the hall half the time for a few minutes of peace.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

Thanks NotAll, I have been sometimes going anyway more recently. I don't think anyone would mind really and I don't think it is snooty- just don't want to risk making a bad impression.

I have always envied those nurses with that gut instinct thing. I don't have that. I see and can specifically identify slight changes in trends, resp/heart rhythms, colour, sounds, consciousness level, acute confusion, limb power differences, changes to speech, level of drowsiness etc. I wish I had that clever intuitive overall feeling which is, like you say, made up of the information you've received subconsciously.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm have found that working by myself such as a hospice case Manager or home care help a with the sensory overload part of it. I am responsible for my work with very little drama from other nurses. The families we work with are over the top sometimes but with some time by myself at the end of the day i did it for almost 6 years.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.
I'm have found that working by myself such as a hospice case Manager or home care help a with the sensory overload part of it. I am responsible for my work with very little drama from other nurses. The families we work with are over the top sometimes but with some time by myself at the end of the day i did it for almost 6 years.

Me too. I scored 22 on that little list. As a hospice case manager, I visit patients where they live. I love being able to see one patient at a time, then spend time by myself between visits. Facilities can be a bit on the noisy side, but I don't have to stay there for an entire shift, just long enough to complete the visit(s) I have there. I also make sure to take a lunch break. I eat and read (or something) and don't think about work. When I worked in LTC I quickly learned to leave the building during my break, even though I just sat in my car. It can be challenging for us sensitive folk, but it's doable.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ER.

Not me by God's grace. But, at my workplace, I've met this highly sensitive nurse who suffered from an over-stimulation problem, unfortunately to top it she was not able to say 'no' to any task because she didn't want to hurt or offend others.

All that she did during her regular downtimes was to stay isolated in her flat. She would even avoid sharing her room as much as possible.

However, with time she learnt to stay 'no' and people around her respected her boundaries. She also started maintaining a list of tasks that she had to do. In the quest to know herself in a better way, she started connecting with people of the same personality so that she would feel understood and accepted.

It's okay to be different; one just has to appreciate that sensitivity can be managed with some help and cooperation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I'm have found that working by myself such as a hospice case Manager or home care help a with the sensory overload part of it.
I completely agree. I accepted a fairly autonomous case management position toward the end of last year and it is what the doctor has ordered. I only see my coworkers once or twice monthly due to working from a home office, which minimizes my aggravation and potential for overload.
Up Vote Up Vote ×

HSP here (16/20 on the list)! :) I was thinking about starting a thread on this until I found this one.

In addition to being an Introvert, I've been labeled many things (HSP, Empath, Highly Intuitive, Claircognizant and clair-sentient,etc). It's been quite a journey for me in healthcare as often times the units and specialties that are regarded the most highly are the ones I tend to want to avoid the most. This has caused me a lot of internal struggle / battles with my own ego because I'm very ambitious and want go as far as I can, yet at the same time know that certain things aren't conducive for my own health/well-being (noisy, busy units, small spaces filled with coworkers, confrontation, lots of people, high stress high intensity units like ICU settings, etc). I get drained. And I mean drained. Swollen feet, not being able to get out of bed for days at a time, inability to talk or lack of desire to even make eye contact, isolating myself, etc.

It was during my time as a travel RN that I realized that struggle is not necessary for growth and made the decision to move in a direction that works best for my own psychological and spiritual needs. Made the move to a new specialty and then went over to part time. I also went back to school so I can officially retire from bedside nursing. I still get exhausted (and I still think about quitting altogether) but it's a process.

In addition, if I had listened to own inner voice all this time (instead of the voice of my ego), I would've known that certain aspects of nursing would've left me feeling drained. I always knew ICU wasn't it for me though I would guilt myself for not being as driven back then. I'm relatively a solitary person, sensitive to energy, prefer having alone time and don't care much for parties and get togethers particularly with coworkers, etc (I usually avoid them if I can).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
HSP aren't necessarily crybabies or weaklings. I'm a rather stoic person myself. But we are more sensitive to our surroundings.

I really advise everyone to read the book for greater understanding. 15% of the animal kingdom, including humans, are more sensitive. It is a genetic trait that benefits the group. The example the author used was in the herding animals. The more sensitive 15% were the ones to alert the herd to danger.

You posted this a while ago but I agree. Being an HSP, doesn't mean a cry baby. I'm not. But I am very sensitive to energy. I read people and situations very well to the point that I can walk into a room and just know that something happened there not too long ago, even if everyone there is happy and smiling at the moment I entered.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Palliative.

My understanding of HSPs is that they process sensory input much more intensely and thoroughly, thus less input is needed and also tolerated. The downside of that is that the threshold for sensory input becoming annoying or overwhelming is lower, because the senses are much more strongly attuned.

I have a lot of the traits of an HSP; my sense of touch in particular is more developed than most people, as is my ability to see in the dark. For example I never use a flashlight to do night rounds--I can see the patients perfectly well, and often can do many tasks in semi darkness just fine. But correspondingly, I can't stand bright lights, sunny days et c.

I remember when I was a student, we were all rotated into er by one of our instructors who worked there. Everyone was so excited to go except me. Sure enough I hated it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion