Nursing isn’t only about the skills you learn in the classroom. There are many other soft skills that are needed to confidently care for your patients!
Let’s get one thing straight; the sacrifices you made to get through nursing school weren’t easy. You spent hours going through your notes and participating in endless practicals. Now, finally, your hard work is paying off.
But, being a nurse is not only about the skills that you learn in the classroom. It’s also about how well you relate to your patients. Are you compassionate? Can you work as part of a team? Most importantly, can you confidently care for your patients? Needless to say, it’s a tough job!
But worry not! If you were wondering how to be a good nurse, we have the answers that you seek.
We partnered with Be1Support1 to host an exclusive webinar on what exactly it means to be a “good” nurse. Together with Osmosis advisor Dr. Sharon Goldfarb, Nurses Berta and Stefanie will share strategies to practice better communication, emotional intelligence, working with other health professionals, and most importantly, trusting your intuition.
You can watch the complete on-demand webinar here!
In this article, you’ll learn:
- The characteristics of a good nurse
- Strategies to practice better communication
- Working with other health professionals
- Emotional intelligence
- Trusting your intuition
- Knowing your limits
- The importance of self-care
Let’s dig in!
The Characteristics of a Good Nurse
If you’ve been looking for the best ways to improve your skills, here are the vital skills you’ll need to thrive in your career as a nurse.
- Integrity
- Successful communication
- Persistence
- Knows their strengths and weaknesses
- Is flexible
- Always has a desire to learn
- Is highly creative in terms of treatments and solutions
- Has a positive attitude and is team-oriented
- Is an active listener
- Advocates for their patients
Strategies to practice better communication
There is nothing more important than breaking barriers for effective communication as a nurse. This will allow you to express yourself and improve relationships with those around you.
There are many instances where you need to communicate as a nurse. For instance, you may receive important information from your time with patients. Therefore, you should know how to condense and filter it so that you can save the doctor’s time.
Apart from your colleagues and patients, you are also communicating with patients’ families. Because of this, communication skills are up high on the list when considering the qualities of a good nurse.
Some noted strategies to good communication include active listening, honesty, and openness in your interactions, managing conflict amicably if you come across any, and identifying verbal and nonverbal cues.
Working with other health professionals
Your colleagues will always be part of your crew. Many times, they’ll be the only people you can interact with and even talk to when facing challenges with your duties and responsibilities.
You may even be working side by side with some of them.
You should always be present and helpful to your team. When you’re in sync with your team members, you may stop feeling like you have to carry your burdens alone.
You might also help prevent burnout due to stress-related issues. If anything, you will feel like your team’s got your back!
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence can make you more assertive in your role as a nurse. It will help you say exactly what you want to say and ensure that your voice is heard, while still ensuring those around you feel heard and respected, too.
This is because it allows you to cope more effectively with conflict. Emotional intelligence is one of the most important qualities of a nurse.
Conflict may arise from differing opinions or personality clashes with patients. When you have a good understanding of your emotional intelligence, you will communicate more effectively and enjoy a better patient experience.
Trusting your intuition
Great nurses trust their intuition. As a nurse, you have learned so many skills throughout the course of your education. However, trusting your intuition is something that cannot be taught.
Your intuition plays more of a role in your clinical experience than you might otherwise believe. This can be leveraged throughout your work practice.
If you feel that something is amiss, speak up. It could be a diagnosis or a test result. You will get a gut feeling about things like these. When you say something, you increase the quality and safety of patient care. Just remember to speak up in a friendly and polite manner.
Knowing your limits
Your limits as a nurse will influence your actions and ethical-decision making. The reality is caring for those around you can affect you both physically and can be mentally exhausting at times.
So, it is important to know your limits and seek help when you need it. As a nurse, you will get attached to some patients and identify with their struggles.
If you feel that you may be getting too attached, or are struggling, reach out to someone. This is important for both you and your patients because you need to be in the right frame of mind so you can offer the right support.
Inevitably, your boundaries will affect your self-concept, feelings, and respect. Therefore, ensure that your needs are being met as well as you are meeting your patients’ needs.
The Importance of self-care
As a nurse, you may find that you put your patients’ needs before your own. However, this is one of the most significant causes of stress in the workplace.
There is nothing more important than self-care. By providing for your physical and mental well-being, you will have the capacity to provide compassion, quality care and enjoy proper communication with those around you.
Proper self-care as a nurse is important, especially because nursing can be a very traumatic field to work in. as you are exposed to pain and suffering. If you cannot care for yourself, you cannot care for others or work at your full potential.
Most importantly, self-care is a stress-management tool. It is the best way to ameliorate everything that you go through on a daily basis.
Think of yourself as a bank account. If you keep spending, you will not be able to put anything back in. You will end up in a serious deficit. Self-care is a way to replenish your compassion and empathy as a nurse.
Nursing the right way
Nursing is about patient engagement and moving people to better health. Remember, being a good nurse means approaching each patient’s interaction so as to understand their concerns, opinions, and experiences.
But it’s not always about the patient. Nursing is also about you as an individual. Are you happy and content in your career? Do you enjoy all that you do? Is nursing still a passion for you? If you still answer yes to all of these questions, then you are well on your way to being a good nurse, if you aren’t already one.
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If you want to become the best nurse you can possibly be, Osmosis has your back! From free resources that can help you choose your specialty, to expert-reviewed studying tools that’ll help you ace the NCLEX-RN®, get everything you need for a career in nursing with Osmosis!
NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc (NCSBN®). Osmosis is not affiliated with NCSBN.
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