20 qualities of a good nurse

What was once the standard and safest practice five years ago could be considered an unsafe practice and risky today. Being a nurse leader is hard. A Good Nurse Is Empathetic . What Makes a Good Nurse Leader. A nurse needs the ability to talk and listen to people from all walks of life – often in the most challenging circumstances and when they are in pain, exhausted and anxious. Nurses may be able to dress wounds in seconds, place urinary catheters without faltering or start an intravenous line with a blindfold on, but without the ability to think on their feet, high-pressure situations will be stressful. Tasks are rarely discretionary and can’t be put off until later. One of a nurse's main jobs is to take direct care of patients. A quiet day planned to care for neonates can suddenly become high-intensity when four women simultaneously arrive in labor. Nurses are expected to grow professionally through ongoing training opportunities and in most states, it’s required for license renewal. You’re going to deal with tough situations that might challenge your beliefs, perception, and personal bias. It’s a rare day that ends with a to-do list that looks the same as when it started. Nurses slip up when they’re tired. Professional respect, flexible job opportunities, advancement potential and the chance to make a difference in people’s lives are just some of what it offers. Lack of information about an illness, for example, can be a major source of fear and anxiety for patients. My grandpa is in a situation where he needs constant help from all of us, and we are trying to figure out a better solution that will help him be more comfortable. Top 11 qualities of a good doctor. There are roles for nurses that require less strenuous physical activity than others including working in doctor's offices or administrative positions, but to be successful and able to respond effectively to emergencies in fast-paced settings, it helps to have stamina. By proactively sharing information instead of waiting to be asked, nurses give patients an opening to talk about what’s bothering them, helping them feel more comfortable and establishing a sense of trust. The nursing profession prides itself on the level of care given. They are quick to meet the needs of their patients by providing exceptional care. When it comes to promoting professional nurses, the following are some of the traits hiring managers and nurse managers are looking for. You’re on the front lines in a profession where you actually get to do something to make a difference in a person's life. Doses given early or late can delay procedures and significantly affect outcomes. For a woman upset that she’s too weak to comb her hair before visitors arrive, it’s taking the time to do it for her. Great nurses figure out ways to manage stress, so they can deliver high-quality, exceptional care, no matter the circumstance. My husband and I are looking for a nursing home, so we’ll have to make sure they communicate well. A Medlink article by Sarah English MSci, May 29th 2019 . For the longest time, I never had to take off work to go to the doctor or the mechanic because I always had several days I was off during the weekday. It’s important for students to recognize that like any field, healthcare has its share of challenges. NurseMoneyTalk.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Does that mean nurses shouldn’t be bothered by difficult and even devastating circumstances? I’m going to go over this list with my students as they prepare for mock interviews and graduation on December. Mar 29, 2020 - Certain qualities of a good nurse are essential when asking for a raise, applying for a new job or asking for a job promotion. Not everyone is born with a robust capacity to be empathetic toward others, but most people lack empathy only because they don’t know the full range of circumstances others may have experienced in life and how it affected them. When students graduate from vocational school, it’s not expected that they know everything. Caring nature Nurses deal with the sick and injured and their families on a daily basis, and must be able to show that they truly care about the situation. Graduating from a vocational school is a noteworthy accomplishment, but it’s just the beginning. You’re going to be in challenging and high-stress environments. Clarksville, TN, Network Support Administration - Engineer, Download the Daymar App - Learn About Daymar, Bowling Green Network Support Administration - CISCO, Bowling Green Network Support Administration - Engineer. And probably the requirements for a lot of jobs, This is a great list for anyone thinking of entering the medical profession in any capacity, be they consultant to hospital porter. Great list of skills!!! Traumatic cases are a likelihood in emergency rooms, so nurses in this department cannot be emotional or linger over patient deaths. 10. Related Articles on Qualities of a Good Nurse, nursing profession you’re going to encounter stress, How to NOT Suck as a Nurse Preceptor: (10 Steps), 10 Best Cheap Scrubs for Nurses (Review + Buyer’s Guide). A good leader pushes its subordinates and gets them motivated for doing the right task. In 1996, Congress passed a bill designed to ensure the confidentiality and security of personal healthcare information. A nurse getting ready to leave for the day to meet with their child’s teacher may have to postpone if a patient emergency arises, and date-night with a spouse may occasionally be spent working a double-shift because someone called out sick. For nurses, respect is the boundary that defines a therapeutic relationship and makes it possible to take care of every patient. Listed below are 10 qualities that make one an exceptional nurse: For example, some medications have very narrow therapeutic ranges, and exact doses need to be given. Effective communication contributes to positive patient outcomes. Like other therapeutic communication techniques, it takes practice, but anyone willing to change their communication style can learn to express themselves more effectively and with confidence. When it comes to promoting professional nurses, the following are some of the traits hiring managers and nurse managers are looking for. Assertive people understand that conflict can be both respectful and constructive when approached in the spirit of finding mutually equitable solutions. Not only will you need to relay information to patients and their relatives, but you might also be required to liaise between them and doctors, so the ability to assimilate information and pass it on accurately and quickly is a must. Understand and have the ability to be compassionate. Self-disciplined. I encourage you to try to find humor in the little things. Healthcare is constantly evolving, and while nursing programs teach all the necessary clinical skills, most graduates will need practice and continuing education to reach full competency, particularly in specialty fields such as critical care, emergency medicine and infusion therapy. Being organized is less of an innate ability than it is practicing good habits and using the right tools. Thank you. Diffusing intense reactions by reframing expectations, balancing perspectives and remaining mindful are among the many effective approaches that can help. A healthcare provider's oath is first and foremost to do no harm. Reliability means consistently doing what’s expected and doing it well. Dishonest behavior such as lying destroys trust in the nursing profession and makes your personal brand worth nothing. Long shifts, busy days and coping with illness and death are stressful. An effective nurse is one who can not only fulfill, but also anticipate patients’ needs. If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. Today, technological advances are causing the landscape of medicine to shift constantly as innovations are introduced at breakneck speed. Do you address problems or are you the problem? It’s a tall order, but handling time wisely keeps a busy day from becoming overwhelming and helps reduce stress. Empathy is the ability to feel what another person is experiencing from their point of view. Good communicators make sure the person they are communicating with receives the information the way they intended and excels at being the sending and receiving end of the channel. Good Coping Skills. The good thing about organizational skills in general is that while they’re second nature for some people, they can be also be learned. Since time immemorial nursing is a profession that has been held in high regard. 3. The best nurses are those that truly, and deeply, care for the patients they work with. During triage, for example, it’s how a nurse uses normal diagnostic results to determine that a patient having chest pain can wait because they are likely having indigestion, not a heart attack. Did I mention as a nurse you could be working long hours on your feet? It’s tempting to try to do everything alone, but more gets done when nurses are willing to trust assistants and other trained staff members to assume duties that don’t require professional nursing attention. Small mistakes could lead to drastic consequences for patients. Did we miss any other qualities of a good nurse? Today, medical information may only be exchanged between healthcare providers when necessary and with consent. Nurse see patients from every walk of life. 4. Being a nurse can be challenging, but it’s a very rewarding career. Not saying that he does not get mad, but the majority of the times, he is positive and solves a case peacefully. For example, good communication becomes very important when you are giving instructions to patients. As a field, medicine is notoriously slow to change. Being able to comfort and support people who are ill, vulnerable, or scared, is the key to being a successful nurse. Being a nurse is one of the few occupations that can meet the needs of workers of all ages through the many different stages of their lives, and for a versatile nurse, the opportunities are boundless. Being able to handle situations like that requires a high level of self and emotional awareness. Appropriate ethical training methods and good role models can help students acquire attributes that are important for the nursing profession and combine them with the attributes they already have. Under the right circumstances, these types of errors can cause significant harm. Because of this, I appreciated your advice about finding a nurse that communicates efficiently. I suggested to my parents that we look for a nurse for him, and we are doing our research to find the best candidate. You'll have the opportunity to learn the skill sets that correspond with the level of practice, types of patients served and practice settings at Daymar College. Top-notch communication skills are among the most important qualities for nurses. It’s very easy to become overwhelmed by the emotions, which can compromise your nursing practice. It just means that for nurses to give people the care and psychological support they need, they must be able to control their responses to focus on the tasks at hand. That can be tough for nurses who are impatient to see improvements they know will make their work easier and improve the lives of their patients Over time, this can create a gap between nurses, administrators and policymakers that leads to professional discontent. Good nurses know that an excellent interpersonal skills are needed to work with so many personalities and disciplines. Below are 20 list of qualities of a good leader. Positive Attitude. But if a nurse stops momentarily to assure the patient help is on the way, it changes their entire healthcare experience and builds invaluable trust. Your email address will not be published. You cannot enforce leadership. Nurses play a vital role in today’s healthcare system. It could be dealing with difficult patients, or it could be dealing with other nurses on your unit who are difficult. Reimbursement for medical services is also inexorably tied to regulations set forth by insurers and government agencies, and the failure to follow them can mean the loss of revenue, financial penalties or worse, closed doors. There are some who never want to see a classroom ever again. If a patient does not survive because the illness or injuries were too serious, the assigned nurse cannot allow the death to have an impact on the care of other patients. Aggressiveness and assertiveness are often confused. Thanks for sharing. Healthcare is a highly regulated industry, and rules are created to improve outcomes and patient safety, but they also increase workload and can even seem senseless sometimes, especially if they’re outdated. Pressure can be felt by the patients and their families or the doctor and other members of the care team. Errors transcribing medication orders, missing information on hospital discharge paperwork and life-threatening allergies not listed in a patient's chart are common medical mistakes attributed to lack of communication. If someone drops the ball, the consequences can be devastating. Qualities of a good nurse : You must be Cheerful and relates very well to your patients and colleagues. Computers in healthcare facilities, for example, use software that organizes task lists, sets up reminder systems and reorganize priorities as they change. Being responsible for how someone else performs a job on your behalf is a significant responsibility. But for nurses, it means so much more. A patient who declines a blood transfusion because of their religious beliefs, a parent who won’t vaccinate a child because of safety concerns and a terminally-ill client who chooses to forgo life-sustaining treatment all present unique and emotional challenges. 1. Everything in healthcare is subject to prioritization, but because issues in a medical setting are continually evolving, nurses need to prioritize tasks at the start of their shift and re-prioritize them throughout the day as things change. Your email address will not be published. It may not be easy to find humor in things let alone laugh when you are in the thick of it. They may put off making difficult decisions or opt to decline care entirely rather than risk embarrassment by asking questions they believe will make them seem uninformed or unintelligent. Healthcare facilities provide training and equipment to make these tasks less strenuous, and while that reduces costly staff injuries and improves patient safety, it doesn’t alleviate many of the physical demands of being on a busy orthopedic floor for 12 hours a day. The most important qualities of a good nurse leader is… 4. My sister and I are wanting to find a nurse for my dad because he has a lot of medical problems that make it hard for him to do a lot of things on his own. You can sit around and whine and complain all day long, but the professional nurse sees a problem and takes it upon themselves to help address the issue. It’s something nurse educators have understood since the days of Florence Nightingale, and with the knowledge and training a nursing program provides, it’s a learnable skill. You will enjoy your job more, and the risk of burnout will decrease. Here are some indispensable qualities of an outstanding nurse. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPPA, strictly governs who has the right to an individual’s medical information and how it can be used. Top Qualities of an Exceptional Nurse. Obedient, tolerant and understanding. Competence as a nurse includes a solid mastery of basic algebra for calculating doses, IV rates and needs for patients of different sizes; an avid understanding of sciences like anatomy, biology and chemistry; and literacy for charting and communicating well with a … If needed, take a quick timeout to gather yourself and keep on going. Education has its role to play before you can become a certified nurse, but some qualities make a good nurse. One of the most important qualities of a professional nurse is the ability to communicate. Here’s a closer look at the qualities that make a good nurse. Nursing is one of those professions where flexibility is essential. Professional nurses know their personal brand as a nurse matters. Nursing is a profession dedicated to caring for others, and it can be physically, emotionally and mentally demanding. The community trusts nurses to do their job with integrity. Compassion begins as empathy, but it’s more than an understanding of someone’s suffering, it’s the willingness to do something about it. Much is expected of you with very little praise. To communicate clearly, nurses need to be comfortable reading, writing and presenting information to others verbally. Work-life balance is increasingly important to people, and it’s essential to managing stress, but the truth is that in facilities that provide around-the-clock care, emergencies happen. And then there’s that heart knowledge that good nurses have that blows me … They tend to avoid disagreements and go along with the crowd, but over time, that can lead to anger, resentment and personal frustration. Compassion. Bad nurses leave a terrible lasting impression, and good nurses will leave a remarkable feeling. For more info, please see my disclaimer. Where there are apparently contradictory findings, it is important to go deeper and see what apparently different approaches have in common. “Love is the foundation of service, and service is expressed in deeds more than in words.”. The world is full of different and sometimes challenging personalities, and once people enter the healthcare system, even the kindest souls become exceptionally vulnerable. As a Medical Laboratory Technician, I am also adopting some of these qualities. The best way to reduce job-related stress is to set clear professional boundaries, work in areas of the field that allow a reasonable work-life balance and take advantage of well-deserved time off without feeling guilty. Please share this article so we can get the word out and educate others. Nursing skills are valuable regardless of physical ability, and not all nurses are track stars, but it helps to be in shape and own a few great pairs of comfortable shoes. Nurses are expected to meet a wide range of patient needs while remaining focused and attentive, and that emphasis on meeting the needs of others first often puts the nurse’s needs in the backseat. Respect Triage, the process of prioritizing how and when patients receive care based on the severity of their condition, is an important concept in medicine, and it’s perhaps a nurse’s most vital role. I am also dreaming of taking continuing education after my bachelor’s degree and being a doctor of nursing. Many eyes will be watching your example as a healthcare leader, whether you’re on the job or not. For example, what if you had a personal history of abuse and are caring for a patient who has a history of abuse. With this good character trait, you are able, through good habits or willpower, to overcome your desires or feelings in order to follow the best course of action or to rise to your commitments or principles. In a busy healthcare environment, nurses don’t have an hour a day to waste chasing missing documentation and misplacing paperwork could mean it lands in the hands of someone who shouldn’t have it, so neatness counts. Nurse make it all work by planning, prioritizing, delegating and making the most of every minute. Few people enter the nursing field without the desire to help others achieve better wellness, but within the boundaries of a professional and therapeutic relationship, only by being open-minded can nurses provide effective, culturally competent and patient-centered care. When you serve, please make sure to serve with grace. It frees them up to use their expertise where it’s needed most and makes patient care more efficient. Of course, being respectful to patients is a professional courtesy that must be extended to all, regardless of their attitude or behavior. Nurses must be able to analyze a situation and make quick judgments based on their analysis. I’m talking about the impression the experience leaves. Leaders are individuals who positively influence how a group behaves. Learn how to be a good nurse. Absolutely! I wish you the best of luck in your search. Continuing education looks a couple of different ways. Compassion means different things to everyone, and for nurses, the mission is to discover what those things are and act on them. Being a nurse is not an easy job. Giving medications, for example, is a large part of most nurses’ responsibilities and regulations strictly govern administration times. Thanks for telling me that paying attention should be one of my characteristics if I want to be an excellent nurse. Advanced Search. Practices for technology, procedures, and medications seem to be continually changing. Oct 15, 2018 - Certain qualities of a good nurse are essential when asking for a raise, applying for a new job or asking for a job promotion. 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