Ten Qualities Of A Good Nurse

0
392

Medical science is a very vast field and has a lot of noble professions linked with it. Since we live in a society where hierarchies determine job significance, we may have undermined the importance of a dedicated workforce that is in play – Nurses.

People assume that everything good that has happened to them after entering a hospital is the result of the doctor’s excellence. However, this isn’t even close to reality. Nurses play a vital role in improving a patient’s health. And they achieve this by exerting themselves to their limits.

Nowadays, some platforms help individuals in getting a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). These online MSN programs develop the best character traits and skills that will help Nurses in the future. And they teach and prepare them for all the upcoming challenges that they might face.

Following is a list of the ten good qualities of a nurse that one may pick up at such MSN programs:



  1. Empathy

It’s easy to understand how tiresome it can be to work at a job just for the sake of making some money. Not only is it against your interests, but also the environment that you are a part of. This problem elevates to a new level if you are working as a nurse at a hospital.

Most people who have a problem with their jobs still get by the day because they generally aren’t attending to sick people of all age groups. But when you are constantly bombarded with health-related questions and are surrounded by people who you can’t relate with, or in worse cases, disgusts you, it becomes difficult to get your act straight. To be able to handle this, you have to have a great degree of empathy towards the patients that you are attending. Understanding their problems, relating to their pain, comforting them when called upon and taking care of their needs. All these will make you exceptional at what you do.

A candidate lacking these traits is in for a lot of struggle. So if it’s a life goal, then you better start understanding people better and help them with their problems.

  1. Respect

Respect is the foundation of any relationship and can qualify as a moral duty towards your patients. If you can’t respect the person before you in a vulnerable state, it is just going to make your job harder. Patients need to feel that they are valued and not just accounted for as another entry in the registry. It’s only possible when you can establish a relation of mutual respect with your patient.

Besides this, there are confidential details that one might feel uncomfortable sharing with others. A big reason behind this is the idea that their privacy might not be respected by the person attending them. Concealing details related to your illness can result in the wrong diagnosis and may even escalate the situation in the opposite direction.

For these reasons, an aura of respect needs to be demonstrated towards the patient for him or her to open up to you.

  1. Communication Skills

It’s assumed that smooth talkers have their ways of getting through a tough crowd. It seems that it might not be all talk after all. Where empathy and respect, both prove to be an asset for a nurse, they can be easily rendered useless if the person conveying these emotions is unable to express them.

It might not look as important as the other requirements of the job at first, but with time, it becomes evident that it makes your life easier, especially when dealing with children and the elderly. Furthermore, to be able to inform the patient of his or her illness and reason with their complaints is very important. Not only does it calm the patient down, but it also makes them more compliant and easy to manage.

Making conversation for the sake of talking is one thing, but to be able to effectively communicate with patients in an easy-to-understand manner makes it valuable.

  1. Interpersonal Skills

Even though you are surrounded by patients and sick people, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you only have to talk with them. A hospital is a 24-hour emergency zone with instructions and details flooding in from every direction. To be able to grasp everything and deliver it as smoothly as possible is an extraordinary display of interpersonal skills.

Dealing with drugs and medical equipment is a serious business and nurses can’t afford to be careless with them. Any prescription that’s messed up or a misinterpreted doctor’s recommendation might mean putting someone’s life at risk. Similarly, if you can’t describe a patient’s condition that’s been under observation, then again it can prove to be fatal.

So, even if throwing in a lot of words and details might get your work done, it doesn’t mean that it is the most efficient way of handling the situation.

  1. Action-Oriented

Most people feel that nurses are just employed to execute instructions that are given by doctors. Such people are in for a surprise since nurses have to do a lot more than just the bare minimum to ensure the patient’s comfort.

A nurse acting on a whim and going the extra mile might save someone’s life. Any individual performing the duties of a nurse who is scared to react or take the necessary precautions in time with the patient’s developing illness may be a liability. This can easily defeat the purpose of being in a hospital since you aren’t getting the care you deserve even after being under observation.

Hence, nurses need to be vigilant during work hours and not falter to prevent endangering someone’s life.

  1. Quick Problem Solving

No one can map out a decent plan and then follow it blindly, hoping for it to pan out. A Nurse’s job paints this picture very appropriately. They can start their day off with flowers and sunshine but they need to keep an eye out for ever-changing circumstances.

Since the workspace is a hospital, they can’t choose to stare at the fact in the eyes that anything can go south. And in such situations, if nurses can’t muster the courage to act or go numb instead of helping, one can only imagine the disastrous consequences. From getting the right prescriptions to minor contributions during surgeries, every action makes the patient’s life much easier.

In a nutshell, a nurse with a straight face or a binary approach towards every situation may result in making the patient’s time in the hospital unbearable.

  1. Can Attend Diverse Groups

Nurses don’t just work with doctors or patients of a particular age group, instead, they have to be professional enough to handle patients of all age groups and racial and ethnic backgrounds. It may sound easy, but someone who isn’t a people person may find it difficult to survive like this.

The elderly can be a big challenge to handle with their notorious attitudes and inability to understand. Similarly, dealing with children is an art and not everyone can do it with ease. For these reasons, nurses need to have a lot of composure and stamina while dealing with patients.

  1. Efficient Health Assessments

What good is a nurse if he or she can’t assess your health and realize if it is improving or declining? Also, as a nurse, if you can’t notice subtle changes that might indicate something or reason with complaints, then you need to work on improving yourself.

Health assessments are very important as they allow the doctor to determine whether the patient is fit to leave the premises or not. Also, you can save the patient from a lot of suffering if you catch up to something when it hasn’t progressed. Along comes with it the added advantage of your life at work becoming considerably easier. These reasons make efficient health assessments an integral part of a nurse’s job.

  1. Sense of Humor

Everything else aside, a sense of humor is a very significant trait of any nurse’s personality. Being witty enough to diffuse any tense situation and restore a composed environment may work in everyone’s best interest. Neither will the doctors find themselves frustrated nor will the patients feel uneasy after an awkward outburst of emotions.

This can be considered a fairly simple task when you are not the one carrying it out. However, it can pose to be a real challenge in certain cases, so be glad if you are a charmer.

10.Perseverance/ Stamina

Amongst all other good qualities, this perhaps is the most significant one for any nurse – Perseverance. If a nurse doesn’t have what it takes to go through all of the above and then show up the next day to do it all over again, then it’s an effort wasted. Certainly being a nurse wears you out since you’re always on your toes. Not only does this require a lot of stamina, but it calls for a very diligent attitude towards their work.

So, if someone out there feels that the nurses are just executing pre-determined robotic tasks, they need to realize that their job requires them to do a lot more than just that.

Conclusion

A lot of preconceived notions about nursing and nurses have left people indifferent towards the degree of effort that nurses put in to comfort a patient. In all honesty, nursing is not everyone’s cup of tea and requires a lot of professional training. So leave any preconceived notions about Nursing aside and try to learn more about this profession before forming an opinion.

ATTENTION READERS

We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully Informed
In fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.

About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT.