Introverted Nurse Practitioner

I’ve spent the past 5 months evaluating my job and trying to figure out the parts I like and the parts I dislike.

I like being able to figure things out medically– sort of like a puzzle. I also like offering patients natural treatment options for their ailments such as probiotics or exercise. I like helping patients and providing accessible care. And I love having the power to prescribe.

I thought my main dislike would be being overscheduled or forced to see walk-in patients without appointments. But I realized these nuisances weren’t often and they were fleeting. Even when I did have extra time to spend with patients, I found myself rushing to end the visit.

There is a reason why I am always exhausted after each shift, and need weekends to recharge. The answer is because I am an introvert. An introvert has a limited battery life to interact with other people, and once that battery is empty, they need alone time to recharge.

Although I like helping people, spending all day every day talking to tons of people is mentally exhausting for me, as an introvert.

This is why when I take 1-2 months off from work, I am mentally recharged and excited to get back to work. That is … until I am depleted again 4-6 weeks later.

I never thought about how being an introvert could accelerate my risk for burnout until I read a similar perspective on a financial forum. The person posting was actually a physical therapist. He said that as much as he loved his job, he wanted to become financially independent so he could work less. He stated that since he is an introvert, talking to different people all day long was overwhelming for him. When I read his post – I was like yessss! I completely identified with that.

I think next year I am going to make some changes professionally and I wanted to evaluate what those changes should be. As an introvert, it may make more sense for me to work part time. That way I am not spending 40+ hours a week giving away all of my energy to other people. I may also consider continuing locums but trying to work shorter assignments or taking a mandatory 1-2 month break in between gigs. That way when I am working, I can give the best version of me instead of a drained version of me.