Is there a relationship between personality and choice of nursing specialty: an integrative literature review

BACKGROUND: Personality is deemed to play a part in an individual’s choice of work, with individuals’ preferencing a profession or field of work that will satisfy their personal needs. There is limited research exploring the personality characteristics of nurses within clearly defined nursing specialty areas. Retaining nurses within specialty areas has workforce implications when vacancies are unable to be filled by appropriately experienced staff. The aim of the review was to determine the current state of knowledge regarding the personality profiles of nurses in specialty areas of nursing practice. METHODS: An integrative literature review was undertaken. Five electronic databases were searched using personality and nursing based keywords. No date limit or research design restriction was applied. Rigorous screening and quality appraisal was undertaken considering the research design, methods and limitations of each manuscript. RESULTS: A review of the 13 included articles demonstrated some variability in the personality characteristics of the nursing specialty groups studied. A relationship was identified between personality characteristics and levels of nursing stress and burnout. CONCLUSION: There is some evidence to suggest a relationship between personality characteristics and nursing specialty choice, burnout and job satisfaction. The published literature is limited and the effect of personality on retention is not well established. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12912-014-0040-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.