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!
I absolutely understand what you are saying. I just retired from my One Day Surgery position and the peace and quiet is heavenly! I used to "pretend" alot and tell myself I was an actor in a role. It was very draining the last few years. And I had one of the better jobs in nursing, to be sure. I don't know what the solution is but I totally empathize with you. Nursing is a very difficult profession.
I've been an ICU nurse for over 7 years now but I've felt the burnout 3 years ago. A year and a half ago I started my MBA to get out of bedside nursing. It does take a toll on you--accommodating family members and giving them comfort or enduring their hostility while maintaining the best of attitudes and seeing family members prolong the life of loved ones when they don't have a chance of survival or recovery--this one affected me the most. I hate seeing my patients who had advanced cancers that have metastasized to the lungs, brain, bones, liver and kept on full code status that are on max doses of pressors and on CRRT because family members cannot deal with them dying putting their feelings first before their loved ones and prolonging their suffering. I can't bear to see that kind of suffering anymore. I am so burnout that I am considering leaving nursing altogether. Like you I am highly accomplished and involved in process improvement projects, I'm a team leader 3 years out of the 7, preceptor/Educator after two years, and also nominated for awards. My love for nursing has been totally drained out of me where I dread coming to work and feel like quitting work anytime I am at work.
I used to work night shift, which was the only shift I could deal with due to fewer people being around. Once I decided to leave the hospital, I found my 2 dream jobs. Q/A for a home health agency where I spent my days with my nose buried in charts; then on to Pediatric home care where I take care of one patient and the routine rarely varies.
I had to look up the definition just to make sure and found this. "There is no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert. Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum." —Carl G. Jung
Yes, I am an introvert. I gain energy from being alone. But I also have to put on my mask and pretend for other people even though you don't want to. Teamwork is essential after all.
I am extremely introverted, but very social in certain situations. I'm an educator and while I enjoy my role, I also require lots of alone time.
At the end of my work day, I am done. Unless it's a close friend, I prefer my own company on my days off. I can easily entertain myself.
There are many roles for introverts, clinical and non-clinical. You will know your own comfort zone.
I am easily over stimulated, which is why I enjoyed working permanent nights. Although my role is more social now, I can make my own schedule of activities, I have a quiet office and I am teaching only a few days each month all day. The rest of the time, my teaching revolves around small groups.
I am a proud introvert, but it can be a challenge, mainly dealing with co-workers and going for promotions. In the country I work in there is a lot of prejudice against introverts as you are not seen as 'leadership material' etc. You have to be uber overqualified and even then miss out to mediocre incompetents because your personality does not fit.
I am an introvert. I could live on a deserted island and be perfectly happy never seeing another person or talking to anyone ever again. Seriously. I go home from work and turn off the lights in my room, eat my dinner in there, and don't talk to anyone. I hug my kids when I get in the door, head straight for the shower, and get my dinner and sit in my room. The kids can come in and talk or sit with me if they want but they know there will be no bright lights, TV, or sibling bickering in the room.
I am going to FNP school and it's easy enough to interact with my patients because I have a role to play. If we were meeting on the street it would be far more difficult. I find most social interaction/small talk exhausting. NWI (Nursing While Introverted) isn't impossible, just be sure you have enough time to do whatever works as your 'recharge' button.
I am introvert. I'm a man in nursing who gets used and abused but with everything I still keep a smile, I love nursing, people need to realize that as nurses we're still human beings. There's so much use and abuse that we can take, but it comes a point when you have to draw the line
Specializes in Float Pool - A Little Bit of Everything.
I am just like you! The other day I was actually made uncomfortable by my coworkers because I did not want to join them for dinner and drinks after work. Sure some people love to socialize with coworkers, but I just don't. I like to go home and be with my family, that is what makes me happy. I think it makes people think I am being snobby, rude, or mean. I always politely decline but they usually don't get it. I also do not engage in gossip or chit chat with coworkers. It is just not who I am. I have no advice, I will always be the awkward wall flower and being in my mid 30's I have just learned to accept it.
beckster
43 Posts
I absolutely understand what you are saying. I just retired from my One Day Surgery position and the peace and quiet is heavenly! I used to "pretend" alot and tell myself I was an actor in a role. It was very draining the last few years. And I had one of the better jobs in nursing, to be sure. I don't know what the solution is but I totally empathize with you. Nursing is a very difficult profession.