Can an ENFP be a nurse? (A Guide to Careers for ENFP)

In this brief guide, we will look at the question “Can an ENFP be a nurse”, and look at some career ideas for ENFP personalities.

Can an ENFP be a nurse?

Yes, an ENFP can be a nurse, as this field involves interaction with people and a possibility for being popular and loved, which is something the ENFP tends to enjoy, and they will like the possibility of learning new things that comes with being a healthcare worker.

An ENFP may find that being a nurse is perfect for them as they may love the fact that the environment is constantly changing and they are likely to never have a free or restless moment and they will certainly never be bored. 

At the same time, ENFP is also liable to intense emotional reactions and sometimes they may find being a nurse very emotionally draining as well. 

On the other hand, the ENFP nurse will likely enjoy each connection they make with patients and they will also likely be the most beloved nurse on their floor, and the patients might remember them long after they have left the hospital or clinic. 

Nurses have to deal with extremely difficult things as well though, and they see these more up close than the doctors because nurses interact far more with patients, and therefore for some ENFPs this may be a particularly difficult part of the job.

The ENFP nurse may also find it very easy to make quick decisions about patients, which is a very good trait for any healthcare worker to have in general, and they may find that their unique ability for intuition may serve them very well in this purpose.

An ENFP nurse will be very happy with their job but they need to keep in mind that they should not get too emotionally invested in their patients and their work, as they may have a difficult time coming out of tragedies if they are too heavily involved, and they may face burnout very soon if they do this. 

The ENFP nurse will need to remember that they can still be very good nurses even if they are not attached to every single patient they have.

A Profile of ENFP Personality

To understand if an ENFP would make a good nurse and look at other ENFP career options, let us take a look at the ENFP personality in general.

ENFPs tend to be positive and magnetic, and they are some of the most popular people among the ENFP personality types, probably due to their charismatic nature and good communication skills.

According to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, ENFP stands for Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Prospecting, and this personality type is also known as the Campaigner.

Extraversion does not refer to the kind of extraversion most people seem to imagine as someone being very outgoing and meeting strangers and getting along with them.

Extroversion in this context refers to an ability to be oriented well to the outer world and being able to process information coming from there in an adequate way.

ENFPs are especially extraverted, which may be seen in their natural enthusiasm and creative energy and this may be a reason for their popularity, as energy and enthusiasm are apparent to anyone who spends time with them. 

In addition, the ENFP’s extroversion is also evident in the fact that they feed off social energy, and people feed off them, too.

The second function that is important in the ENFP personality type is Intuition, and the ENFP tends to drift into alternative methods of thinking very often, which is because the intuition is constantly gathering information and they are constantly trying to make huge maps of information in the ENFP brain.

The ENFP will always seek more and more knowledge rather than sit and assess what they do have, and this may be why they like the open-ended questions to the yes-or-no. 

The thinking type of minute or detailed organizing is not their strong point, so they excel in areas where big and even abstract ideas and concepts are being discussed, and they are likely to live in the moment rather than think about the future or past.

The ENFP decision-making process is feeling, which means that the ENFPs follow their hearts and their belief systems, as feelings do not only refer to emotions. 

Logic and analysis of everything they come across are not the ENFPs style, which is why they do better where people are involved and not that well where systems or mechanical things are to be handled.

Perceiving, the last function in the ENFP is the opposite of the decision-making process of judging, and this process suggests that the ENFP is eager for change and hopeful for turns in events. 

This function may make the ENFP very opposed to similar routines and monotony of any kind, which may put them off of any project or job they take on.

ENFP Careers

Here are some ENFP careers that have been seen as very comfortable and fitting according to most ENFPs who have ventured into them.

Creative Advertising /Creative Marketing

This field involves a lot of change and breaks in monotony and it will also give  chance to the ENFP to stretch their creative muscles, and if that does not convince you, you may want to hear from this person from Reddit, who talks about their experience:

“I absolutely love working in a creative advertising agency. The people are creative and laid back. Our office always has a ton of fun–there’s a lot of freedom. As long as we get the work done, we’re free to play (last week we flew a remote-controlled helicopter around the conference room.) We’re constantly bringing in new clients and each day is a new project. I love brainstorming, and it isn’t monotonous because each client has different needs. Plus, ENFP’s understand the social world around them, and understanding what would make someone excited about a product is a hugely important skill to have.

I’d definitely recommend looking at the marketing/PR world.”

Construction/Field Work/Independent Contracting

No matter what field the ENFP is interested in, taking up different projects and being out in the field will always make them feel great, as they tend to like change and they love exploring their new environments and living in the moment.

This Reddit user talks about how much they used to love their old job and how much they hate sitting at a desk now, which is something many ENFPs might agree with.

“I’ve had many a job in my day. I sit behind a desk now and all I think about is how awesome it was when I did construction. No two days were the same, there was always something new and challenging and at the end of the day, you could see the progress you made. I absolutely loved it.”

Start-Up job

Startups are all the rage right now, with demands from the populous increasing every day there is a need for newer and better services, and start-ups work to provide that, which makes them exciting new adventures to work for, but don’t take our word for it, listen to someone who actually works at one of them:

“I’m a creative director at a startup in (place name removed for privacy). Before I learned about various personality types, I contributed a lot of my success to a certain gut feeling that various things were disordered. Now I know that as a byproduct of ENFP, these gut feelings would often lead to simpler and more cohesive products and have led directly to growth and profit for our company. At my latest review my boss said that if there is ever a point of contention within the team, he’ll always side with me because he knows I’ve thought it through more deeply and from more angles than anyone else.”

“I’ve only recently realized this, but I believe that the differences in our world view put us in a position empathize with a problem, see an array of scenarios and solutions, and select the one that “gives productive order” to the situation.”

Entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur may be perfect for an ENFP, even though it is the ESTP that has been given that name in the MBTI, but due to the ENFPs amazing intuition they may make great entrepreneurs and really embrace the challenge as this person did:

“I’ve really loved the entrepreneur lifestyle. Blogging, building websites, anything creative. I’m also a musician and get a kick out of songwriting and performing.”

Counsellor/Therapist

This is another great venture for an ENFP given their understanding of the people around them and their capacity for intuition, and they may find the work truly fascinating as no two people are the same.

This counsellor talks about their experience and it is quite positive.

“I am an ENFP with strong results on all axes. I am a licensed professional counselor. I work with children and their families. I love my job because I continually get opportunities to meet new people while maintaining and growing established relationships. The helping field is definitely for me and my personality type.”

Other careers that the ENFP may be very good at are:

• Producer or Director
• Musician or Singer
• Human Resources Specialist
• Dancer or Choreographer
• Music Director or Composer
• Real Estate Broker
• Librarian
• Childcare Center Director
• Market Research Analyst
• Meeting or Convention Planner
• Training or Development Specialist
• Insurance Sales Agent
• College Professor
• Special Education Teacher
• Teacher Assistant
• Actor/Entertainer

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we looked at the question “Can an ENFP be a nurse”, and look at some career ideas for ENFP personalities. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or comments you may have, or any suggestions for topics you would like to see covered.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Can an ENFP be a nurse?

Citations

https://blog.udemy.com/enfp-careers/#:~:text=An%20ENFP%2C%20as%20a%20physician,an%20undying%20enthusiasm%20for%20hope.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/how-myers-briggs-affected-my-career-path

https://www.typefinder.com/search-careers/personality-type?term_node_tid_depth=142&page=3

https://www.truity.com/personality-type/ENFP/careers