Yep, often times the extroverts do screw this up worse and more often than introverts because they have strong personality conflicts. See it all the time, especially when they say things off the cuff and don't pay attention to the words that come out of their mouth. I get along much better with consultants/colleagues than many of my extroverted friends.Introverts fail in medicine... if you cant communicate, if you can't connect with people, if you rub people the wrong way, you won't be able to implement your plans. You have to talk with consultants; get them to do procedures or help manage your patients. You have to talk to nursing staff, to get your orders done correctly. You have to talk to patients, families, social workers, etc...Of course this is not an introvert vs extrovert thing. Extroverts can screw this up to.
I wholeheartedly disagree.Is Introversion a weakness in LIFE? No.
Is Introversion a weakness in MEDICINE? Yes.
Why does an introvert function poorly on a team? Because they don't communicate well? That's not the mainstay of introverts. It's more frequent that they don't speak up unless they feel like they are adding something meaningful to the conversation. When I ran ACLS cases for our sim lab, I was told I was the best at directing people out of all the groups. It was a situation where I needed to speak up and my actions were impactful.Either accept that introversion does poorly on a team of doctors or change. Accept the weaker evals, accept the failures in communication, accept that people will look down on you, or change. The bottom line is that you control one thing: you...Especially when those perceptions fall in balance with the qualities that make a better physician.
Being quiet shows either you aren't interested or aren't interesting. Nobody wants to work with either of those two kinds of people.
Yep, often times the extroverts do screw this up worse and more often than introverts because they have strong personality conflicts. See it all the time, especially when they say things off the cuff and don't pay attention to the words that come out of their mouth. I get along much better with consultants/colleagues than many of my extroverted friends.
I wholeheartedly disagree.
Why does an introvert function poorly on a team? Because they don't communicate well? That's not the mainstay of introverts. It's more frequent that they don't speak up unless they feel like they are adding something meaningful to the conversation. When I ran ACLS cases for our sim lab, I was told I was the best at directing people out of all the groups. It was a situation where I needed to speak up and my actions were impactful.
I'm an introvert at heart (had to work on being an extrovert for situations like residency interviews), but if you start talking about something I am really involved in or are a long-time friend, I'll talk your ear off...but I don't just offer my opinion when it a) doesnt matter b)won't change anyone's opinion, c) I just don't care what your talking about. I'm not the guy your going to get talking about politics because I just don't care, don't care about other peoples opinions on the topic and lastly don't know enough to offer a well developed thought that will significantly impact a conversation.
This did negatively impact my clinical grades (had a conversation with an attending that I ended up working with again and he stated it had) as I just didn't get to know my attendings well enough to just chat about crap I don't care about or kiss ***. I won't change because it won't make me a better physician.
The biggest thing that I find funny is that most people say introverts make bad leaders. That's ridiculous. Some of the best leaders are introverted...they sit back and watch people, make well formed decisions on how they would suggest/change whatever and they sit down with that person instead of on-the-fly minor non-impactful suggestions. You don't have to be a "guns a-blazing" person to be a great leader.
Yep, often times the extroverts do screw this up worse and more often than introverts because they have strong personality conflicts. See it all the time, especially when they say things off the cuff and don't pay attention to the words that come out of their mouth. I get along much better with consultants/colleagues than many of my extroverted friends.
I wholeheartedly disagree.
Why does an introvert function poorly on a team? Because they don't communicate well? That's not the mainstay of introverts. It's more frequent that they don't speak up unless they feel like they are adding something meaningful to the conversation. When I ran ACLS cases for our sim lab, I was told I was the best at directing people out of all the groups. It was a situation where I needed to speak up and my actions were impactful.
I'm an introvert at heart (had to work on being an extrovert for situations like residency interviews), but if you start talking about something I am really involved in or are a long-time friend, I'll talk your ear off...but I don't just offer my opinion when it a) doesnt matter b)won't change anyone's opinion, c) I just don't care what your talking about. I'm not the guy your going to get talking about politics because I just don't care, don't care about other peoples opinions on the topic and lastly don't know enough to offer a well developed thought that will significantly impact a conversation.
This did negatively impact my clinical grades (had a conversation with an attending that I ended up working with again and he stated it had) as I just didn't get to know my attendings well enough to just chat about crap I don't care about or kiss ***. I won't change because it won't make me a better physician.
The biggest thing that I find funny is that most people say introverts make bad leaders. That's ridiculous. Some of the best leaders are introverted...they sit back and watch people, make well formed decisions on how they would suggest/change whatever and they sit down with that person instead of on-the-fly minor non-impactful suggestions. You don't have to be a "guns a-blazing" person to be a great leader.
I appreciate all of the supportive statements people have made. As I pointed out earlier the only negative comment I have gotten all year on evals is that I'm "too quiet." So, I have to assume it's because I'm quiet. They've also all said that my presentations were excellent and that I communicated well with patients, so I also have to assume the "quietness" they are speaking of is the lack of schmoozing with the residents/attendings. I'm assuming residents and attendings are honest on evals. If there is something else going on, they should tell me about it and include specific examples so that I can change it.
Honestly though, if it's my quiet personality rubbing people the wrong way, I'm not willing to change who I am. I attribute my rocking out in psychiatry and family med to my quiet personality (aka good listening skills) so if OB and surgery don't like it too bad. I'm going into family med anyways. I mainly posted this thread hoping for support and comments that would enlighten people that quiet is not a weakness. In fact, it can be an advantage.
Maybe it was a mistake to post this thread since it is upsetting you so much. I mean no harm. I am just your typical stressed out med student who needs a good healthy dose of support every now and then. And, I use StudentDoctor.net as a source of support from peers going through the same thing (although many times, it turns out to be a firing squad or a pis*ing match rather than the support I needed).
That's not at all what "being quiet" means. I can think of plenty of socially awkward types who aren't quiet when it comes to discussing patient care. I would never mark down a student for being socially quiet, but it's a very different thing than being quiet on rounds, being quiet during a consult, being quiet in the OR, being quiet about offering to write orders or do a post-op check, being quiet during an interactive conference....The main thing is, not everyone can be a social butterfly, and there are countless examples of residents/attendings who aren't. It's not mandatory to be super social to be in medicine in any specialty.
The powerful introvert who manipulates the **** out of people isnt who we're talking about. Your description of yourself is similar to my description of me. I have deep introspection, I prefer to be alone, and have trouble making meaningful connections with other human beings. Yet, when I choose to, I am (and have been told this) speak incredibly well, demonstrate extreme empathy, and am generally well like. I can - win friends and influence people- but practice - the 7 habits of highly effective people. -
I dare say that schmoozing and kissing ass DOES make you a better physician in that you do the pieces of the job that AREN'T medicine. If you can fake it for an attending, you sure will be able to fake it for a nurse, a clerk, a patient. When they are talking about something you DONT CARE ABOUT, if you act like that, they aren't going to care about you either. If you really wont talk unless it interests you, you need to find the skill to fake it to make it. To say -im an introvert, I don't care- is to suffer defeat before you even get started.
If you use the TedTalk's definition of introvert (incredibly brilliant person who, whenever they want, can get up in front of 10,000 people on stage and give a talk about how she's an introvert) well DUH its better to be introverted.
If instead you use the layman's term of introvert: shy, quiet, reclusive, scared to contribute, then, illustrating the weaknesses in the definition, my points hold true.
If you use the definition of extrovert as loud mouth, off the cuff, demands constant attention from the crowd at all times, then, illustrating the weakness in the definition, who would want to be an extrovert?
Instead, if you use the layman's term of extrovert (engaging, empathic, motivating, well-spoken, likable), then my points hold true.
Of course you are supposed to be in the middle. Of course its shades of grey. Of course extremes don't work, and you have to be able to move between them. But if you show up as a proclaimed introvert, and you feed into the definition of the layman, its not going to work out. It isn't that one is better than another, its that extremes fail and everyone needs to know when to play the part of the extrovert and when to play the part of the introvert
Introverts fail in medicine. It's not because they don't schmooze. It's not because they can't connect with their residents or attendings. It's not because extroverts are more likeable... that is a small fraction of it.
Medicine, as a field, has become team-centered, with the physicians at the helm. If you are introverted, you might know the medicine cold. You might know it better than everyone else. But if you cant communicate, if you can't connect with people, if you rub people the wrong way, you won't be able to implement your plans. You have to talk with consultants; get them to do procedures or help manage your patients. You have to talk to nursing staff, to get your orders done correctly. You have to talk to patients, families, social workers, etc.
Of course this is not an introvert vs extrovert thing. Extroverts can screw this up to. But people who rub people the wrong way, people who don't get along, or people who don't know how to communicate are going to fail in these regards. Life will be harder. Work will be less fulfilling.
Is Introversion a weakness in LIFE? No.
Is Introversion a weakness in MEDICINE? Yes.
Now, you can say, "I dont care, I am who I am." Fine. People think Im an arrogant *******. I accept that. Hell, maybe I am. I am not willing to change. Because, in order to change that perception, I have to behave differently. When stressed, I would revert to me, and then people would see me as duplicitous, which is worse than arrogant *******. Also, I have reconciled that the qualities of my personality have outshined the problems it creates. Ive tweaked it enough so that if you get short interactions at the wrong time, you get arrogant *******... but work with me long enough and the better qualities come out.
You can say the same thing. Either accept that introversion does poorly on a team of doctors or change. Accept the weaker evals, accept the failures in communication, accept that people will look down on you, or change. The bottom line is that you control one thing: you. Trying to alter perceptions of other people isn't going to work. Especially when those perceptions fall in balance with the qualities that make a better physician.
Remember this: people don't get sued because of medical mismanagement, but because patients don't like them. People don't get positions because they are more qualified, but because they fit in better. That's life. God's rules (or whatever cosmic powerhouse you choose to beleive or not believe in). You can't change them, but you sure as hell can play by them, and get ahead.