New nursing student - social anxiety?

dreamsofsomeday

I want to become a nurse, but I have a major problem. I am very shy and have social anxiety issues. I always have, but I haven't done enough to change them. Lately, I've been hearing a lot of how you have to be very social to be a nurse from family as well as one of my professors. My professor actually talked about another student who wanted to become a nurse but wasn't social. She made it sound like there was not a lot of hope for the person. My biggest problem is meeting new people for the first time, especially starting a conversation with them. I've gotten a little better at this but still struggle. Obviously, that could be a terrible issue for a nurse.

I need advice. Should I try to change myself somehow and become more social, or should I switch my major to something that doesn't involve talking to people as much?

CassieReannan

Only change yourself if you are ready. I am pretty much the same as you, its hard for me to make friends and talk to people. I am almost finished with my first year and since starting I have become more relaxed when around other class mates... even ones I dont really know.

But your teacher is right, you do have to have some form of social skill as a nurse. You will be talking to patients, families, doctors, other nurses and children. You have to know the right things to say and when to say them, you also have to be patient and calm.

Sharlene113

To me, nursing is very social. Not only social, but you're walking into a patient's room and dealing with sick patients (but also with their families and care givers) on some of the worst days of their lives. You absolutely must have the ability to speak to them and enter their room with confidence in yourself and in your skills. I have friends in nursing school with me that were very shy and were afraid of going into patient's rooms for the first time. That was back in 1st semester. You should see them now! Not a shy bone in their body. They go into patient rooms and are fantastic with patient's and families. You HAVE to have communication skills to be a nurse but those skills can be developed. Don't give up your dreams because you're shy. You can learn to come outside of your shell. Personally, I don't have a shy side at all, but have seen it lots with friends/fellow nursing students. They did it and you can too! Best of luck both in school and in your weight loss journey!

_TastySnoBalls_

i'm not social and i still went for it....first semester clinicals was the worst because i was so scared to interact with patients and their families....now in my fourth (and final!) semester, it's a breeze....no problem. nursing school changed me! if it's something you really want, don't get discouraged, just go for it!!! you can do it!!!

Softrbreeze

If this is your dream, don't give it up- You will regret it! I've been terribly shy my entire life and often thought I would only be able to manage a job is if it were a solitary job or working with animals. I ended up going into nursing because of the job security aspect, not actually thinking I was ever going to like it, but I DO! It can be stressful at times, because naturally there are days when the last thing I want is to interact with other people and because you ARE expected to come across as confident and a "people person", which for me is just an act (although I can fool myself somedays). The main thing is just the affirmations you give yourself. For me, it was "If ______ can do it, so can I". And learn to be forgiving of yourself, because you WILL have bad days (everybody does). And being in a people profession, you will come across people who do NOT like you, not because of anything you have done but just because mars is in retrograde or because you remind them of the person who ran over their dog or because their big toe hurts lol. And if all else fails, there are still nursing jobs that don't require so much social interaction (administration, research, forensics, etc).