Personality Type Differences of Licensed Nurses and Implications for Continuing Education

This research was undertaken with the specific intent to develop a personality profile of licensed nurses (RN\u27s and LPN\u27s) which would provide a basis for recommendations of techniques to be utilized in continuing education programs for nurses. The instrument selected to measure the psychological type preference, and thus create the personality profile, was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Carl Jung\u27s theory pertaining to personality, known as type theory, states that individuals perceive and respond to information differently according to their psychological type preference which is measured by the MBTI. There was considerable correlation between the findings of this study and the principles of type theory warranting the utilization of psychological types for more effective educational offerings. Licensed nurses in the Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding metropolitan area completed the MBTI Form G and a demographic questionnaire. Results were subjected to computer analyzation utilizing the Selection Ratio Type Table (SRTT). The review of the literature focused on two major categories: Psychological Types in General Education, and Psychological Types in Health Education. Based on the findings of this study, one can generalize that nursing attracts all 16 psychological types as identified by the MBTI, but there are significant differences distinguishing nurses from the general population and from one another. Different psychological types were clearly noted between RN\u27 sand I,PN\u27 s, between their places of employment, between their areas of specialty, and between their job titles. One can also generalize that nurses are satisfied with their profession and can be described as an action-oriented, decisive group of professionals concerned with patient welfare, who wish to order their worlds in terms of human values. Recommendations for nurses\u27 continuing education programs were developed to provide program planners and instructors a method of facilitating learning and classroom management. Specifically, recommendations for program planners included suggestions for topic and instructor identification, program promotion, program management, program development, and program implementation. Recommendations for instructors included suggestions for instructional techniques to be utilized in classes which are primarily RN\u27s, LPN\u27s, or a combination of RN\u27s and LPN\u27s. Instructional techniques were described in relation to content, format for presenting information, questioning strategies, development of assignments, testing, and the creation and maintenance of an appropriate learning environment