Shy Nurse

Nursing Students General Students

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Hey all,

I am a pretty shy person. I have been my whole life. I even have some pretty strong social anxiety that I take meds for. I'm terrible at meeting people and even worse at small talk. I am great when it comes to work when I know what I am doing and I have a purpose. I was a generic caseworker for years and can help and handle a client pretty well. I wanted to ask for opinions on ways to get thru the school part from other people that have faced or are facing the social anxiety thing.

Thanks! :)

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Its great that you realize this is something you want to work on. I use to be a really shy person. Before Nursing school I put myself into job situations where I had to be a leader, where I had to talk to total strangers. I was a dance teacher for five years and a personal trainner. I am still shy around people.

My first quarter of nrusing school we were in a skilled nursing facility. I learned how to talk to a tree. Some pts can't talk, cva, comatose, ect. you gotta learn how to talk. your voice can relax them and make procedures easier. its weird not to say a word while giving someone a bed bath.

I would say get a job where customer service is key, a fairly busy place. you gotta practice starting up conversations with anyone. you can make a game of it. Go to a bar, a college cafeteria and try to get 10 rejections. yes 10 rejections. Or try to get a stranger to say a weird word or phrase like squirrel farm. this will teach you how to gear and control conversations. you gotta practice every day. go on a bus and sit next to someone and strike up a conversation, or wait for someone to sit next to you. also try to use appropriate forms of touch with different ages, and cultures.

people like talking about themselves. even to strangers. Ask questions. Lots of them. Have questions lined up, think ahead a little. Allow them time to explain things, ask them to elaborate. These things will also help improve your personal relationships.

google, "active listening" read up on techniques. learn how to agree with statements, ask questions, rephrase to state you understood what is being said, use there name, use eye contact, use touch, ect.

In Nursing school day one I was taught a RN is the patients advocate. you have to speak up. its your job. you gotta learn to get help, use resources, ask for orders, tell MDs they are wrong, ect. Learn to listen, but most of all you HAVE to speak up!!!

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Shy here as well, but a lot better than I used to be! I do not like to be the center of attention, nor do the right words always come easily to me.

I took a class on shyness in college. A few of the lessons we had to do was to make us more comfortable around people.

1) talk to a random stranger in the elevator or in a line. Make eye contact and smile. :)

2) do one thing out of your comfort zone once a week. The more you challenge yourself to change, the easier it becomes,

3) volunteer your time either at work on a committee or somewhere that involves talking with strangers.

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Hey all, I am a pretty shy person. I have been my whole life. I even have some pretty strong social anxiety that I take meds for. I'm terrible at meeting people and even worse at small talk. I am great when it comes to work when I know what I am doing and I have a purpose. I was a generic caseworker for years and can help and handle a client pretty well. I wanted to ask for opinions on ways to get thru the school part from other people that have faced or are facing the social anxiety thing. Thanks! :)
Hey, Not sure what your schools are like. It here in Ontario a lot of the classes incorporate group work, presentations, and lab partners. You get over it pretty fast. It doesn't stop after first year I've heard. You're always doing group work and presentations.. Scary at first but I figure I'm there to become a good nurse. Not make a bunch of friends. Hope that helps. :)
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I didn't have this type of anxiety from being shy, but I did have it from feeling incompetent (real & imagined). Maybe what I did will work for you too? Every time I went into clinical, I would imagine what it meant to be a nurse. What the position was, and the authority it came with. I was role playing in a sense. I didn't FEEL confident or capable, but I knew a nurse should. So I acted it out. It actually worked really well for me. So you may be shy, but as a nurse you will not be. :) GL

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I don't like the whole doing stuff in front of a bunch of other people either. . . but I made it this far, and I've made it through semester 1!

I am fine one on one with a client. I like to know that I know what I'm doing, and that helps me to feel more confident.

Yes the nursing school presentations still suck. . . but no worse than the presentations we have done all through middle and high school and heck my first degree. I can't say I have ever "gotten over it" but ultimately it's not going to count that much towards whether you pass or fail or even if you will be a good nurse or not, just get through it and learn what you need to learn out of it.

I know for me that once I am graduated and practicing (fingers crossed!) it will be like any other job that you have trained for and slowly but surely get more comfortable in.

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Which part of school are you having problems with? The group work and presentations might actually be easy for you, especially if you treat it like a job. As far as socializing/making friends goes, I feel you. Even though everyone is very nice, its still really hard for me to talk to them.

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@ leobear73

i think accepting yourself for you really are, is a great first step. loving yourself, accepting yourself, and acknowleding your weaknesses and facing them head-on, is a beginning. no one is perfect, we all have short-comings and personal challenges we must overcome. i would try and push yourself to be more active socially. be the initiator. as uncomfortable it may be or feel, the more you face it and act on it the easier it should get. you already mentioned that you can "handle a client pretty well", now you just have to believe it and believe in yourself. words are easy to think and say, but the actual 'doing' part is what is going to give you more confidence. its not an overnight miracle type of thing. its something one needs to practice on consistently and get better at with time.

wishing you the best. :)

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what a lot of good answers! i was just having a long conversation c another crusty old bat and we were worrying about the state of nursing education these days. i feel a little better.:heartbeat:nurse::heartbeat

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I too have this problem. I stumble over my words A LOT. Also, I try to talk fast (which is why i stumble words) to get the conversation over with. I know that is bad, but i cannot help it. I will try some of the techniques mentioned, and see if it will help. ^^

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Specializes in Pediatrics and Med Surf Float.

i can totally relate. i'm the girl who stands at the side of the room by all parties. scratch that. USED to be that girls. i am a shy person at heart but my prof in fundamentals pushed me HARD. can't be shy with her. its not allowed. my second semester prof pushed me too. and its cuz of them that i have the guts to walk into a pts room and say so when was the last time you had BM. for me it was a matter of fakin' it till i made it. i faked the confidence and pretended i could do it. and now i can.

was it a cure all? no i still got nervous the first time i did home visits (unsupervised, just me and my classmate. oh ya i did it this morn and it totally rocked). but now i know i can do it so its a self esteem boost.

NS has been a gift to me. i got confidence i never had before and i love it.

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