Essential Skills That Make a Good Nurse

For those who are thinking of getting a Nursing Diploma and are considering joining the nursing profession, there are a few things that they need to keep in mind before they get started.  There are a number of skills that are useful to have to help the nurse do well at their job and really help out the patients they are meant to serve. 

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Some of the skills, such as administering medication and changing out IVs are learned while the professional is getting their Master’s degree in nursing. Others can be learned more on the job, such as communication skills. Some of the essential skills that will help make a professional a good nurse will include:

Communication

One of the top skills you need to have as a nurse is communication. Nurses are going to communicate with a lot of different people throughout the day, from a team of doctors, the patient, and even the family of the patient. Being able to talk to all three groups of people takes excellent communication skills. 

The good news is that this is something you are able to work on over time. You can practice your communication skills, both verbal and nonverbal, both while you are pursuing your medical degree or when you are on the job. 

Time Management

A nurse who isn’t able to manage their time and stay organized will find that it is very difficult to keep up with all of the demands that this job brings. In the industry of healthcare, everything is going to be time-sensitive, from emergency intervention to administering the right medications at the right time to the patients. 

Considering that most nurses today are going to deal with a very large number of patients at a time, nurses need to have the ability to stay on top of it all. If you struggle to manage your time and stay on top of things, it can really impact the patient and cause a number of problems. 

To make sure they get it all done, nurses need to know how to plan, prioritize, organize, and delegate tasks ahead of time as much as possible. Managing and organizing your time and all of the responsibilities is not going to be easy to accomplish, but it can help make the day more manageable and get every patient the care they need. 

Physical and Mental Stamina

Get ready to work on that stamina if you wish to be a nurse. Nursing is often known in many other industries for some of the long shifts and the overload of patients that the professionals need to deal with. You will need to work long hours and have great focus to get things done. All of these factors are enough to cause you physical and mental stress. 

A nursing professional will need to be aware of all the stress that comes with their work and be prepared to give their mind and body extra breaks and the energy that they need. Practicing self-care, exercising, and eating healthy foodscan all make a difference in how well you can perform as a nursing professional. 

Empathy

Being stuck in the hospital can often be scary for a lot of patients. One of the responsibilities of working as a nurse is to make sure that the patient is going to feel as comfortable as possible. This is why empathy is important as a nursing professional. It helps the other patient feel more at ease. 

As a nurse, you get to be in a unique position to provide assistance to the patient. You understand the different things the patient is going through and will have some special insight into what procedures the patient is going to experience. You can then use that understanding and your knowledge to help explain things to the patient. 

When you are able to develop a good and empathetic relationship with the patient, you can help to improve the medical experience for that patient. For those patients who are going through a major health issue, a nurse who is understanding and empathetic can make it a lot better. 

Team Collaboration

Nurses are going to work and collaborate with a large team of people. They will need to work with a team of doctors, other nurses, and sometimes other healthcare professionals to get the work done. Often these teams are going to work together to find the most successful outcome for their patients. A successful nurse will be able to work as a team player. 

 There are a few practical tips available from the World Health Organization to help you collaborate better as part of a team. Some of these include:

  • Introduce yourself to the other members of the team quickly and clarify what your role in the team is. 
  • Make sure that you close up any communication loop
  • Avoid assumptions by stating the obvious. 
  • Always ask questions and then check and clarify to help avoid misunderstandings
  • Make sure that the language you use with the team is objective
  • Clearly specify who you delegate tasks to. 

Critical Thinking

And finally, for a nurse to be successful in their career, they need to have critical thinking skills. The nursing professional will need to gather knowledge and information to help them care for their patients and then they need to be able to apply that knowledge in a way that heals the patient and makes them feel better. 

To lead a successful career in nursing, you need to be able to think through situations quickly and come up with the best possible solution. Doing this well can help you go up the career ladder as well. 

Having the Right Skills to be a Nurse

There are many skills that will help a professional become a good nurse and it is not a one size fits all kind of idea. If you are looking to get into the nursing profession, you will take a look at some of the essential skills above to see if you have what it takes to make a good nurse. 

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