Reserved Personality Type in Demanding Career

sourapril · May 9, 2011

Maybe you should test the water before your thoughts get too overwhelming. Try to be a CNA or volunteer and see if you can handle dealing with patients.

pandora44 · May 9, 2011

Hi there. I happen to be a INTJ, so I know about being quiet and reserved. My natural inclination is as a loner and outsider. I'm not good with snap decisions or interacting with large numbers of people. Still, I am a successful and happy nurse, even though I worried in school about all the things that concern you.

However, it seems like you have two different issues going on. Its one thing to be shy and have poor communication skills. You can work on your communication skills and get better at them. You may always be shy in your personal life, as I am, but as a nurse you learn to put on your "nurse face" and take charge of the situation Again, you learn it with experience.

Your comments about second guessing yourself and being too hard on yourself are different than just being shy and socially unsure. It sounds like you have some serious self-confidence issues. The good news is that it should not keep you from becoming a great nurse if that is what you decide to do. The bad news is that you will definitely want to work on those issues before starting nursing school. Nursing school is really difficult and for people with perfectionist tendencies, it's brutal. I know, I am one.

Bottom line: don't let you fears dictate you life.

imanedrn · May 9, 2011

I'm an INFP according to the Jung - Myers-Briggs typological approach to personality. It may seem silly, but if you find one that fits you, it's amazing how much you can learn about yourself. I think the "feeling" aspect of our natures really help us in this job, enabling us to empathise and sympathize with the patients. It's the shyness that is my worry, always second-guessing myself--nothing is ever good enough. I have the book smarts to succeed on tests and in writing papers, but I struggle in dealing with people and verbal communication. All the empathy in the world is pointless without great communication skills. I tend to see my position (in life in general) in the "big picture" rather than in the details, I'm incredibly hard on myself and need to find ways to remain focused without getting overstressed.
My desire is to be a nurse, but my confidence is shaking at the thought of dealing with lots of people and stress every day - anyone had any experience of this?

I feel like I'm reading a passage through a mirror. My best advice: Don't let a test's results tell you who you ARE.

Admittedly, my first year or so of nursing was difficult because I was sooo timid! Finding a specialty that suits your personality and aspirational needs is important though. I disliked being so timid! Moving from m/s to ER was the best career move that ever happened to me. It was a rough transition. I didn't know how to speak up to co-workers, let alone patients! I had to rise to the challenge or flounder, though. And rise I did.

Decide who you want to be and become that person. Let those test results be more fun than define who you are. You don't let your astrology reading dictate what you'll do every day, do you? Just because you currently ARE something doesn't mean you can't BE something else. Give yourself more credit!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 9, 2011

I have the INFP prsonality type. With the exception of a PRN job in psych that I worked back in 2006, virtually all of my experience is in LTC, subacute rehab, and acute rehab. In addition, since I am an introvert, I do much better on night shift because day shift exposes me to way too many people (families, doctors, management, therapy staff, vendors, dietary, etc.). I cannot stand being pulled in multiple directions. I do not like to schmooze or engage in excessive small talk. Mindless small talk is distracting to me.

Some people are adrenaline junkies who love chaos, a fast pace at work, excitement, and function well in a high-pressure, life-or-death environment. On the other hand, I like a slow pace, stable routine, low stress, low pressure, and peace and quiet. In other words, I function best when I do not need to move with a sense of urgency.

Currently, I am working at a small rehab hospital on night shift. It is suiting me so far because the families usually go home by 9:00pm, the doctors usually are not there at night, management is not there, and I am dealing with less coworkers. On most nights, time is on my side.

As far as communication is concerned, I have had to learn interpersonal skills during my adult years while in the workplace. Some people are naturally good at connecting with others, but I have had to learn to effectively communicate through baptism by fire.

Rob72, ASN, RN · May 9, 2011

INTJ. My hobby/personal interest is psychology as related to learning and developmental models, particularly in high-performace fields. All that to say, your confidence may be increased by developing decisional paradigms, aka heuristics, by which you operate.

In other words, look at a problem-solution set where you reached a satisfactory resolution, then deconstruct the event. Given the information you had at the time, was your decision the most appropriate. If predominantly the answer is "yes", then evaluate the thinking that caused you to reach that decision, and "file it" for future use. This allows you to create exclusionary decision trees, where you reach a conclusion rapidly, with a high degree of certainty, by asking, "what is different?", at several stages. If the situation presents no new variables, you can quickly jump to the next decision point.

The most easily given example is vital sign and electrolyte evaluation. These are readily available for most patients, and particularly in ED/Med-Surg, allows you to look at a presentation, evaluate for verification (ie, arrythmia->lyte imbalance-> yes/no, if yes, then...., if no, then...). These models can be used in physical assessments, psychological and social interactions. Socially, when used appropriately, people will find you perceptive and capable of relating to their position(s), feelings and ideas. If you are completely lacking in social filters, keep your mouth shut- it will come across as a weird Sherlock Holmesian idiot-savant character flaw. :smokin:

chocolateskye · May 9, 2011

I am the same way. I have fears of being terminated for not being a good fit? I have no idea who's butt I should or should not kiss, I just want to learn my job and be good at it. I wish I could take ***** 101 because I swear you need to be one to survive in nursing...lol hopefully we can get to where we want to be in nursing and love it.