The Pretty Common Introverted Physician
It is time to meet your friendly neighborhood introverted physician.
There are quite a few of us in medicine. Perhaps up to 1/3rd of us are introverts (as opposed to extroverts, of course), but it could be more or less, depending on who you ask.
While we may not all be Mr. Rodger’s quality, once introverts learn how to adapt to the culture of medicine, we can be better doctors than the overtly introverted (or extroverted, for that matter). We learn a lot through the culture of medicine and become something completely different from what we were in our youth or childhood.
Let’s explore the pretty common introverted physician.
After all, our life is about good grades and accomplishments. Our parents programmed that, and “somehow,” we got this notion in our head that we want to master something, help people, or do a decent enough combination of both, more or less, to do something great with ourselves.
Who are Introverted Physicians?
Most introverted physician specialties are: (2018Medscape Data)
- Pathologists
- Rheumatologists
- Public Health
Extrovert Specialties:
- General Surgery (surprise!)
- Urologists
- OB/GYNs
I’m not sure this surprises anyone. We resemble this self-reported data, and it fits our narratives well.
Before we dig deeper into the self-reported physician data, how do they compare to population data?
Self-Identified Vs. Population Data
Also, from the same large data set (15k physicians in almost 30 specialties), the self-reporting data show:
I am a:
- 38% a mix of introverted and extroverted
- 35% introverted
- 28% extroverted
These data surprised me. The population data reports that two out of three people are extroverts.
Why do only 28% of physicians admit that they are extroverted? That’s a big self-reporting gap from 66 down to 28.
What is going on here?
There are More Extroverted Physicians Than We Admit
I think the 38% of folks who claim they are a mix of introverted and extroverted are confused, and they are all extroverted. Most, anyway, but a smaller portion are introverts with a calling for medicine. More on that idea later.
But it is a good thing that so many physicians report being ambiverts.
While the concept is foggily defined in different studies, ambiverts can change their internal/external focus locus depending on the context or where they are in life. For example, I may like to succeed early and coast just a little. But don’t tell anyone that—we probably are working just as hard as you are but doing it mostly in our heads. And don’t forget that introverts’ energy can run in waves, so we have good weeks and some weeks that are better than good.
Most have reached mental and emotional wisdom, or at least enough to pass as introverts and control their extroverted side. Or vice versa. These are the rocks that are not uncommon in the quieter parts of medicine.
I bet more physicians are extroverted than they give themselves credit for, but they are doing such a damn fine job at their job that it doesn’t much matter one way or the other.
Or maybe introverts are more attracted to medicine than the population is on average.
Introverts are More Attracted to Medicine
Perhaps medicine attracts introverts.
It attracts chameleons—people who are easily adaptable to many months of residency rotations.
At least that is how it felt—a new month, a new person trying to fit in and belong. You know—trying to be cool and in control—the opposite of vulnerable. So much of residency focused on comparison with our peers—a combination of competition and conformity.
Brene Brown pairs this “fitting in” with a loss of creativity. Hmm. I hadn’t considered how residency stifled creativity and made us system thinkers. Doctors do many creative things, but we tend to pass those off as secondary to our careers.
After all, life is good grades and accomplishments. Our parents programmed that, and “somehow,” we got this notion in our head that we want to master it, help people, or do a decent enough combination of both, more or less, to do something great with ourselves.
Why Introverts Are Attracted to Medicine
Introverts are attracted to medicine because we think we are. We are more self-reflective and understand ourselves just a bit better than average. We do well in the first two years of med school.
MS3 and beyond is for the legendary extroverts.
Introverts get beaten up a little because comparison is real.
“The comparison mandate becomes this crushing paradox of “fit in and stand out!” It’s not “cultivate self-acceptance, belonging, and authenticity”; it’s “be just like everyone else, but better.” ~Brene Brown
Introverts don’t do well trying to fit in yet stand out.
Instead, relax and seek to understand rather than fit in. Be who you are—authenticity and belonging instead of comparison and one-upmanship.
Physicians also have the opportunity to:
- Bring back the empathy lost over the years during rounds
- Cultivate meaning in whom you serve
- Power of the physician’s voice and hands
Let’s finish with the self-reported data we were looking at above.
The Self-Reported Data
While the top 3 specialties self-identify as introverted 40-50% of the time, here is a list of the other winners:
- Physical medicine 39%
- Allergy 39%
- G.I. 34%
- Plastics 32%
- Oncology 32%
Only 35% of those in the most extroverted specialties admit to being introverted. In the most introverted specialties, up to 50% self-identified as introverted.
Conclusion—the Pretty Common Introverted Physician
The introverted physician is pretty common.
Not infrequently, introverted physicians present as prickly or arrogant. Introverts have a rough outer shell since they have limited energy.
And in an extrovert’s world, medicine is an extroverted profession. You can’t throw a rock in a hospital and not hit a narcissistic physician.
Introverts must blend in or find a way to adapt. Some have unusual habits. But we all self-select our specialty. It’s a bell curve with fat tails: we all know the extremes in the different specialties. Picking out introverts and extroverts in different specialties is target shooting.
The flip side is that introverts tend to provide better bedside care. Get over it, Mr. Rodgers. The good doctor is indeed the pretty common introverted physician.
