KEITH CARLSON


KEITH CARLSON BSN, RN, NC-BC


Your temperament


As a nurse, your temperament has a lot to do with how you approach situations, people and challenges. Does your temperament lend itself to your chosen professional pathway? If you’re an introverted person, a position that forces you to interact


with large numbers of people may not suit you. While you may want to challenge yourself to grow more comfortable with interpersonal com- munication, being forced to do so during long nursing shifts may not be the best place to practice. Overcoming introversion can be challenging, and there are plenty of ways to do so without torturing yourself at work. On the other hand, you may be a very extroverted nurse who thrives


on interaction. After realizing you’re unhappy in your new informatics position, you may conclude that informatics may be a great fi t in some ways, but you need to shift to providing teaching and training to groups rather than sitting in front of a computer. Informatics may still be ap- propriate, as long as more interaction is woven into your work.


Get tested


There are a number of reputable personality assessments that can help you to understand yourself, what kinds of professional roles may suit you, and how to cultivate the parts of your personality that you would like to bring forward. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory uses some of


Jung’s basic theories, breaking them down into categories and types that help people understand themselves and others. The ways in which you see and interact with the world are crucial to personal development, and undergoing a personality inventory can be enlightening. Some personality tests can be taken online, while others are better


suited for administration by a trained professional. Online tests may reveal certain traits and tendencies; however, an educated professional who can off er a scientifi c interpretation of test results can be invaluable. The Enneagram and newer forms of personality assessment may not


have as strong of a scientifi c background as the MBTI, but they still can be helpful in assessing your nursing career and the best roads to success.


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There are nurses who are extroverts and nurses who are introverts, and some who are certainly a mixture of both. In a world of seemingly limitless personality types, what does your personality have to do with your nursing career? Almost everything.


Consider who you are


Carefully consider what makes you tick when choosing a career path within nursing. If you have a quantitative and scientifi c mind, certain types of nursing may be best for you. If you are a gre- garious individual with a high need for interpersonal interaction and verbal ex- change, there are forms of nursing that may be less suitable. Be aware of your personality, the ways


you think, your emotional makeup and how you process information and ex- periences. Aspects of your personality will provide clues regarding the types of nursing positions and areas of specialty that may be best to pursue. Aspects of your personality may change


over time, so keep a fi nger on the pulse of your personal development and how it relates to your life as a nurse. •


Keith Carlson, BSN, RN, NC-BC, Nurse.com’s career advice columnist, is the board-certi- fi ed nurse coach behind NurseKeith.com.


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