What are your Big Five most dominant personality traits? Is there one trait all good nurses have?

[Krishna Floisand]

According to the Big Five Model, personality can be narrowed down to five main factors: extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.

Extroversion

This factor reflects the degree to which people interact with others and their levels of comfort and assertiveness in these situations. Extroverted people are sociable and enjoy being the center of attention. Furthermore, they are energized by social interaction. At the other end of the spectrum, people with low extroversion prefer to be alone and are even tired by social interaction. They are more reserved and reflective and certainly do not like being the center of attention. 

Agreeableness

This factor refers to people’s interaction with others. If people are highly agreeable, they are empathetic and sympathetic; they are cooperative, altruistic, and compliant; they are trustworthy and also forgiving of others. People falling on the opposite end of the spectrum are more likely to show off as well as insult others. People with low agreeableness are not likely to care about others’ feelings and are often demanding of others. 

Openness

This trait refers to people’s willingness to experience new things, as well as their inclination towards imaginative and intellectual pursuits. Open people are often curious, creative, and unconventional. On the other hand, those with low openness are more traditional and prefer to follow routines; they are also not very imaginative. Needless to say, people who are not very open tend to dislike change.  

Conscientiousness

People who are highly conscientious have great impulse control. This allows them to stay focused on goals. These individuals are generally organized, disciplined, thoughtful, and careful. On the other hand, people with low conscientiousness are more impulsive and disorganized. 

Neuroticism

This factor refers to people’s emotional stability and the lens through which they see the world. Neurotic people are more prone to experiencing negative emotions and thoughts, including anxiety, anger, sadness, stress, low self-esteem, and vulnerability. People with low neuroticism are more emotionally stable: they don’t worry much; they are rarely sad; they often have high self-esteem and are more confident, and resilient. 

We all fall somewhere on the spectrum of these personality traits. It also probably affects how we engage and care for others. Do we think nurses have a trait all in common?