I decided to take a few online “personality” tests that are supposed to tell you what type of nurse you should be. Having studied personality psychology and helped develop personality questionnaires myself, I view these types of pop psychology quizzes as not valid at all. But they can be fun and possibly have some utility, so I decided to review the top ones.
I took each test myself, answering as honestly as I could to see my results. Then I went back through trying different answers just so see the differences. Here are my findings.
This is a test offered by Johnson & Johnson, whose commercials in support of nurses I just love! This quiz had 12 questions, including your education goals, your best skills, and questions about your work style. One question asks about influential preferences in nursing, such as through face-to-face interaction, nursing education, or the healthcare system as a whole.
The first result I got was “nurse advocate.” Their description said this is a “liaison between patients and doctors, to help patients understand their diagnosis.” After trying a few more times with different answers, I got results such as school nurse and hematology nurse. I have considered being a school nurse and found the nurse advocate role to be interesting, so this might be a good springboard for your career exploration. However, the tab to get more information about the specialty did not expound in any useful way. You basically get information regurgitated from the questions you answered and can pretty much figure it out based on face value.
What-kind-of-nurse-should-i-be
This test is offered by a nursing school, so there may be some bias or a not-so-hidden agenda. This quiz only had 7 questions, but some of them were identical to the J&J quiz. One of the questions had pictures to choose from and I liked the greater detail in the wording. This helped interpret the question and make a selection. The result I received was “Clinical Nurse Specialist.” There is a basic paragraph description, but it also solicits your email to get more information about the specialty. They want to make connections to recruit students.
One problem I had was that I took the test several times with different answers and kept getting “Clinical Nurse Specialist.” Finally, I had to take the quiz repeatedly to get a specifically different specialty, “Nurse Educator.” They may have set CNS as a catch-all specialty, or maybe my answers were just too all over the place to get another specialty.
Learning Nurse Resources Network
In my search, I stumbled onto this potential goldmine! It is not a test of nursing specialties but a variety of tests that give you insight into how you rate on some crucial work characteristics.
There were 8 different tests, called profiles, that include acceptance of diversity, analytics, conflict resolution, empathy, listening, preferred learning style, time management, and work stress. I chose two to complete: the empathy test and the work stress test. The empathy test consists of 40 questions and asks you a variety of questions about your perceptions of others’ feelings, social skills, etc. My empathy score was 77, which was above average. This could be helpful for someone considering nursing, as I believe empathy is an essential quality in nurses. It could also indicate if you are experiencing compassion fatigue. Maybe you are someone who started out in nursing with a lot of compassion and empathy but are feeling worn down. Sometimes nurses get stuck in a rut, and just a change of scenery can renew your energy and improve your attitude towards your patients.
The results of the work stress test were actually quite fascinating! It breaks your score down into 6 different categories so you can identify what aspects of your job rank relatively higher or lower in stress. The six groups were job characteristics, pay/benefits, schedule, teamwork, supervisors and productivity. My lowest scores were in teamwork and schedule, which makes total sense because I work with a fantastic group of coworkers! And I have a set schedule every week, which makes it easy for me, so I always know what to expect. The highest score was job characteristics, which seems vague at first. They describe it as relating to the demands of the job, your job satisfaction, and tensions at work. This makes sense again since I work on a step-down unit taking care of really sick and complicated patients.
I actually love this resource. There are a lot of applications for these questionnaires, although I still wouldn’t exactly call them “personality” tests. This insight could inform decisions about choosing a specialty if you do some more exploration and think about how your qualities and characteristics might fit. It could also help you become aware of your strengths and weaknesses as a nurse, or if you are suffering from work stress and burnout. These questionnaires are also being used for research purposes, and they provide comparative analyses, so you know where you stand compared to others. It is completely anonymous, free to use, and they don’t solicit information for their own agenda.
A Career Counselor’s Perspective
I was trained in psychometrics in psychology and am certified in the career assessment, the Strong Interest Inventory (SII). Therefore I have concerns about taking these kinds of online tests too seriously. I didn’t find any information about the validity and reliability of these tests. Have they tested nurses in these areas to see if they get valid results? Overall, I think the main point is that these tests are just for fun and should not be the sole factor in making any major decisions. They are a useful starting point in exploring different nursing specialties but should not be used exclusively. Shadowing, informational interviewing, and talking to a career expert are also invaluable activities.
If you take any of these tests, let me know what you think. Was this helpful? What other career topics you would like to learn about? Leave a comment below!
Categories: Healthcare, Nursing, Careers
Free Nursing Career Information: Expert Tips for Success 