Introverted Personality = screwed?

[firstcitizen]

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Do you think a dentistry school applicant who is introverted won't make a great dentist in a profession where interpersonal skills is important?

 

[BettyBoop]

I would think your medical expertise and mechanical skills are of primary importance.

Of course interpersonal skills are valuable. That can be developed over time.

What causes you to question yourself about this?

 

[DDS4tehwin]

Some of the most mean, selfish, introverted people I have ever met are other Pre-dents. Because of this, sometimes I question is dentistry good enough for me?

 

[firstcitizen]

^
Why should the personalities of a select few have any sway whatsoever on your career ambitions? A lot of pre-health students need to keep a competitive edge.

I would think your medical expertise and mechanical skills are of primary importance.

Of course interpersonal skills are valuable. That can be developed over time.

What causes you to question yourself about this?

It's easily distinguishable during interviews no matter how adept of a speaker you are and it can turn against me.

 

[tooth decay]

Do you think a dentistry school applicant who is introverted won't make a great dentist in a profession where interpersonal skills is important?

I guess it depends on how introverted you are. If you are at the extreme end where you freeze up during any type of personal interaction, yes , you will probably have difficulty. Otherwise, if it is just a case of some shyness when meeting new people, you can learn to change. For instance, join a Toastmaster's club where you learn to speak in front of people. That will force you out of your shell.

 

[thewatchtower]

If you are at the extreme end where you freeze up during any type of personal interaction, yes , you will probably have difficulty.

or you could just go into academic dentistry. some of the most socially incapable people i have ever seen are involved in dental education.🙁

 

[armorshell]

So, oddly enough I'm in a rare position to provide peer-reviewed statistics on a situation 😀

At UoP in the first week of introduction to restorative dentistry we take a Myers-Briggs personality test (one of the rare "frivolous" things in our schedule) and have some discussions on what it means in dentistry.

So, Personality Types of Dentists, Americal Journal of Dentistry, 1991 reported that in their sample of 472 dentists tested with a Myers-Briggs test, 59% tested as introverts. Just for fun, this number was reflected pretty well in our entering class if I recall correctly.

So I would hardly say you're screwed, considering you fall in line with the norm 😀

 

[mochafreak]

Well, here goes my rant...there is a big difference between being introverted and being shy. Of course, people that are shy are also introverted. But, being introverted doesn't mean that someone is shy and socially inept. IMO, the difference between an introvert and an extrovert is that the extrovert gets energized from interacting with people. To them it's like playing. To the introvert it's more like work and it can be tiring. It's not a handicap, and it doesn't mean the introvert isn't capable of interacting as much as the extrovert, they just prefer not to.

Unfortunately, being introverted is looked at negatively. We're shy, unmotivated, etc. When I was an engineer my first performance review said I did an excellent job with a task that required me to communicate accurately and frequently with every engineering discipline working on a multi-million dollar project. The only negative comment on my review was I needed to be more "outgoing" (in other words, BS more at meetings...).

So, when it comes to your interviews, realize that your personality just might count against you and you need to be as outgoing as possible. Try to be the worlds biggest extrovert at your interviews. Don't rely on past work experience that proves you can be an outgoing and effective communicator, blah, blah, blah. I got rejected from one school because they thought I was too introverted for their program.

As far as dentistry itself goes, I would say that as long as you can communicate what needs to be said and be personable enough to gain the trust of your patients you'll be fine. Realize that in health care, BSing with patients is required. I worked on an ambulance and doubt any of my patients thought that I was an introvert.

I think dentistry is a great field for introverts because you're not constantly talking with patients. You have periods of working with your hands, etc. where you can "re-energize". Although, I think if you want a successful practice you need to realize you're always communicating with your patients, and staff non-verbally and you need the discipline to have a professional and confident demeanor. So, if you are shy you really need to be honest with yourself and work on that. I think the best thing about dentistry for introverts is you'll be your own boss. When you're doing work you know is excellent and that's reflected by patients that are happy with you and your work, you'll never have to read a performance review telling you that you needed to be more outgoing with the UPS guy. 😀

 

[SuperC]

The better you are at dealing with people the more successful you will be with ANYTHING. Because you are shy and/or introverted does not mean that you can have a great career in dentistry, engineering, truck driving, ect.

Being more people oriented will simply help you meet/exceed your goals quicker and more more ease. A quick read of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. will help you understand what I am talking about.
-C

 

[clickytop]

Do you think a dentistry school applicant who is introverted won't make a great dentist in a profession where interpersonal skills is important?

The rubber dam was created by an introverted dentist who was tired of having to talk with his patients. Soon after it's invention, his practice went belly up because he couldn't talk to his patients. As the only refuge left for him was academia, he dedicated the rest of his life to torturing dental students and publishing articles about why the rubber dam was the standard of care for all procedures. I hear he actually used them for prophys. And EXTs.

 

[DrJeff]

Don't worry about it. When I last took the Meyer's Briggs 3 years ago as part leadership development course, my test score had me over in the extreme introvert portion of the chart😱 In social settings where I don't know anyone, I am the quiet person over in the corner(atleast until I've had a Bud Light or two😀). That's also how my out of office personality is too, while I'm a big fan of getting outside and participating in sports, my introvert comfort zone has my favorite sports being individual ones (running, golf - my usual golf time is on Monday which is my day off before 7AM when I can go out as a single on the course, and skiing - once again Monday's are my favorites and if I'm not on the hill with my wife, I'm riding the chairlift solo all day long)

Professionally, it's much easier, since I'm very, very comfortable talking dentistry and in the office where I'm in control of the conversation and am often "teaching" the patient more than I'm talking to the patient, I'm perfectly fine.

And in the true case of opposites attract, when my wife last took the Meyer's Briggs, she's in the complete opposite corner of the chart as I am, an extreme extrovert. So if we're out socially, and I don't know anyone else, she definately starts up the converstion with new people, but often once I feel comfortable with them, I'll be the one finishing the conversation.

So unless you have an EXTREME social phobia, you can be as introverted as you like and still be successful as a dentist👍

 

[aphistis]

My Myers-Briggs came back as Mastermind, which I think is a pop-psych euphemism for "evil genius." I plan to create a luxurious CE spa resort where I can teach dentists to confuse patients into accepting $30,000 treatment plans with indecipherable jargon, high-pressure sales techniques, and judicious application of tazers as adjunctively required. So far my MB seems to have me pegged.

 

[DrJeff]

My Myers-Briggs came back as Mastermind, which I think is a pop-psych euphemism for "evil genius." I plan to create a luxurious CE spa resort where I can teach dentists to confuse patients into accepting $30,000 treatment plans with indecipherable jargon, high-pressure sales techniques, and judicious application of tazers as adjunctively required. So far my MB seems to have me pegged.

Okay, I just retook a quick Meyer's Briggs online to see if I've changed over the last few years, and I'm a "mastermind" too

Here's the profile:

http://keirsey.com/personality/ntij.html

The really scary thing for me, is the reference to Gen./President Ulysses S. Grant at the bottom, since he's actually a distant relative of mine😱