Seeking advice from all you Introverted nurses out there...

[jk2185]

I've been a nurse for 6 years and I'm pretty decent at it. I've achieved pretty quickly, got the good jobs, won awards, and even saved some lives. Sounds like I should like my job. What I've learned here lately is that the social obligations and demands of nursing WEAR ME DOWN. Being forced to be cordial with co-workers, nice to all your patients/families, basically having to talk when I don't feel like it at all. And I've found the MOST draining thing is to put on that fake act and smile like the cheshire cat for 98% of your shift just to please the masses. Don't misconstrue this, I care about people and I genuinely enjoy helping them; it just comes at a price I wish wasn't so high for myself.

I need some advice from my fellow introverted nurses....

Lastly, there's a quick poll question below if you don;t mind....thanks!

[DoeRN]

I would try to think of it in that sense. Yes, being a nurse can be mentally exhausting for introverts but would you really be happy talking to no one all day?

Sounds like the perfect day to me! If I ever won the lottery I would become a hermit!

[StripeyDog]

Deeply introverted, and rehab is a high-touch specialty. I love my patients and enjoy most of my coworkers, but I'm drained at the end of the shift. I've gotten really selective about who I see on my days off, and am trying to switch to 3 12s and move out of the city to maximize my quiet time.

[DTWriter]

OP, are you a daytime nurse or a nighttime nurse?

Why I ask? -

Daytime: Drama

Nighttime:...Well, not as much drama (less interaction with patients and staff and people are usually more concerned with staying awake/sleep than wondering whether or not you are putting on a smile)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am a hardcore introvert who does not enjoy mingling and schmoozing. When I worked at the bedside, I preferred night shift due to less family members, rounding physicians, managerial figureheads, and other multidisciplinary colleagues.

I now work from home as a case manager for an insurance company and, for my personality type, it is a dream come true.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

I'm an introvert. I dont talk much with my coworkers, I prefer to work. I do talk with my patients because it breaks the ice and most people need to express themselves (including me - but not 24/7). I am perfectly happy not doing much on my days off.

[jk2185, BSN, RN]

Daytime ICU, occasional daytime PACU.....nights would be better for sure, schedule is hard though

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I'm also an introvert to the point that I enjoy traveling by myself and I do it on purpose.

It can be hard because we're forced to be an extrovert at work. I find a quiet corner and chart. I'm a float nurse so I use that as an excuse to not really socialize with staff because I don't know anyone. I also don't discuss my personal life with patients. Like if someone asks if I have kids I don't answer and turn around and ask them the same question. People usually like talking about themselves so I'm good at redirecting conversations so they can talk.

My favorite part of the day is the drive home because I'm alone with my thoughts. Sometimes I don't even turn on the radio.

My off days I try to do things by myself. I'm in school full-time so I'm absorbed in my studies. I also go out the restaurants alone and I don't care if people stare. Movies alone and heck I even went to an amusement park alone and had a great time.

So my advice would be to find as much alone time as you can to recharge. And I agree check out the Myers-Briggs personality test. I'm an INTJ and lol nursing is NOT recommended for my personality type. And coincidently I'm in school for a field other than nursing.

We are very similar. Aside from 2 close friends, I prefer to do most activities alone, including travel. I am also an INTJ, which is possibly the most independent of all the introverted types.

Although most of my working life has been extroverted, which is fine, I can easily not talk to anyone for days.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I'm also an introvert to the point that I enjoy traveling by myself and I do it on purpose.

It can be hard because we're forced to be an extrovert at work. I find a quiet corner and chart. I'm a float nurse so I use that as an excuse to not really socialize with staff because I don't know anyone. I also don't discuss my personal life with patients. Like if someone asks if I have kids I don't answer and turn around and ask them the same question. People usually like talking about themselves so I'm good at redirecting conversations so they can talk.

My favorite part of the day is the drive home because I'm alone with my thoughts. Sometimes I don't even turn on the radio.

My off days I try to do things by myself. I'm in school full-time so I'm absorbed in my studies. I also go out the restaurants alone and I don't care if people stare. Movies alone and heck I even went to an amusement park alone and had a great time.

So my advice would be to find as much alone time as you can to recharge. And I agree check out the Myers-Briggs personality test. I'm an INTJ and lol nursing is NOT recommended for my personality type. And coincidently I'm in school for a field other than nursing.

I'm an INTJ and do fine in nursing. I laugh and play with co-workers all night, although more to amuse myself than anything. They go out together all the time, but I've only made it to one gathering in the past two years ...I arrived late and left early, but it was fun.

At home, I go everywhere with my husband. He's introverted, as well ...so we usually do things together, but in near silence.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I do fine at work (usually), but once I'm home I'm DONE. That's one reason I love working 3-11 shift; when i get home, family is all asleep and I can unwind.

[NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN]

I'm an introvert. I've found that I can handle all the interaction as long as I have one or two days a week where I don't have to leave the house. Literally, I just don't want to see or talk to anyone, not even somewhere like a grocery store where I don't have to interact with anyone. I just need to be alone to recharge. Alternatively, I find that escaping into nature, like a day-long hike thru the woods by myself, is even better therapy than staying home. You have to schedule alone time in order to retain your sanity. If I have too much stimulation and zero down time, I will get physically ill, I will get shaky, I will get teary-eyed, I will want to find a quiet corner to crawl into a fetal position and rock back and forth, lmao. Literally, those babies that start crying and mom says "oh, he's overstimulated" Yep, I turn into that. lol.

Honestly, most people that don't know me well have no idea though, because as long as I get that down time to myself, I'm super energetic, friendly, outspoken, etc. around people. I do enjoy socializing with my friends and interacting with my patients, I just can't do it every day of the week.

[lasair]

I am an introverted psych. nurse, I am very sensitive to other peoples energy. I take my breaks on my own and sometimes I meditate, but usually read. Other nurses gather in groups and are all chit chat. I enjoy the company of my co workers but require down time. I do have to care for myself on my days off, I require a lot of recharge time and once I do this I am ready for the next day

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Another deep introvert is here.

I do not mind occasional chat about life, but I go to work solely for work. I understand now that in the first three places I passed through that was a huge part of the problem. I was written up once for nothing but "not smiling enough" (mind you, it was in ICU)!

I am very lucky and blessed to find a unit where nobody cares much as long as the job is done. I prefer to hang near the rooms and far from the nursing station. I do not mind a small talk here and there, but patients and families, after being for weeks in places where everybody just smiles and says the same silly cookie-cutter niceties usually appreciate when they are taken aside and spoken with about business, what is really going on, what are the plans and what they can do. Patient education is one of my favorite things, and it is usually appreciated much more than old stale chatting about who is going to which church. Likewise, I will not ever sit at the station chit-chatting, but everybody knows that I will jump right outta my pants to help. Since LTACH has extremely diverse patient population, every nurse personal strengths and weaknesses are well-known, and I made it known early and wide that I would love to take any "critical" or "technically difficult" patient in exchange for a demented LOL who just needs to be babysat and entertained from time to time. Many other nurses' preferences are directly opposite, and we're very happy that they are taken into consideration more often than not when assignments are done. I never work for more than two shifts in a row, because LTACH is so exhaustive physically and mentally and I need my recharge time with my family, my multiple (very quiet) hobbies and now my school (BTW, online coursework is the God's gift for introverts!)

There are plenty of nursing jobs which can accommodate someone not liking life in a fishbowl and talks about nuthin', and on pretty much each and every level of nursing education. It takes experience, effort and some luck to find them, but they are here.