The profession of nursing is not just a career but a spiritual dedication to serve with compassion, fortitude, and empathy. More than just a profession, nursing is a true calling to make a difference in the lives of people by treating them with intense care and hope, especially when a patient is in the midst of life and death.
Here are the seven qualities that define a professional nurse.
- Flexibility
To achieve success in any profession, one must be adaptive to the environment and must possess a flexible attitude towards everyday challenges. But, when the environment is constantly changing, flexibility becomes a survival skill. Whether it be compromising working hours or the demanding responsibilities, a successful nurse should be trained enough to tackle any situation which is not often pre-described.
Adapting to random shifts, hectic overtimes and dealing with new staff in different departments are few of the many tests of a nurse’s skill of flexibility. In order to master this trait, a nurse should always try to maintain a positive attitude towards her duties with the desire to keep on learning. It also leadshim or her to learn valuable lessons, further leading to shape the career. In this regard, an Online Master of Science in Nursing can greatly benefit a nurse to pursue a meritorious career without intervening in his or her domestic or professional responsibilities.
- Aptitude and Patience
A truly successful career in nursing demands excessive testing and a balanced blend of knowledge and skills. Today, nursing is not seen to stand a high spot in society by many but in fact, it is an extremely demanding field. Looking after ailing and disturbed patients with great patience is challenging to say the least. Being compassionate and helpful are not the only capabilities that define a nurse, but it is a tendency to make a difficult decision at the right time and provide patients with acute medical care without any error are the few innate qualities that make a true nurse.
- Empathy and Care
Empathy is one of the most fundamental attributes that constitute human values. No human being can reflect himself as humane without empathy and compassion for a fellow human being. This is why a great nurse carries the pain of the patients she is serving. This attitude also defines her dedication to the nursing profession.
A nurse can feel the suffering of patients and provide them with hope and comfort. But no human being is perfect enough to deal with every situation in the same manner and conduct. Every person comes across occasional fatigue once in a while, but it is the responsibility of a nurse to overcome such instances and deal with them efficiently.
A nurse must know that patients often see them as their advocates in the hospital bureaucracy. So, a nurse needs to live up to that stature by being sympathetic and understanding, especially when the patients are facing one of the most vulnerable and scaring moments of their lives.
- Emotional Stability
A nurse is a professional depiction of the core values of a highly compassionate human being. But, to cure a patient with compassion, also demands you to be emotionally stable. In the absence of emotional stability, you would never be able to heal a person who is going through a tough patch.
Nursing is a profession where dealing with stressful and traumatic scenarios are very common. Particularly, the ability to deal with emotional setbacks such as death is very demanding yet crucial for a successful nurse. At times, days witness the dooms while nights are full of gloom. So, it gets becomes quite challenging to resist these distressful and nerve-racking situations with utter patience.
But it doesn’t mean that nursing is all about fighting with stressful days.In fact, there are many heartwarming moments to cherish as well. It gives a wonderful sense of ecstasy to see patients recover and reuniting them with their loved ones.
- Communicative
Perfecting the art of using appropriate words with different individuals and in different moments is the key to success in every professional industry. But in nursing, it the most essential aspect of the duty. Being a qualified nurse, it is very important to communicate efficiently with doctors, compassionately with patients and supportively with colleagues in a high-velocity environment.
Even a slight error in communication while taking notes told by the doctors, can result in drastic consequences. Therefore, nurses must be all listening and all observant in each second of their working hours. Also, patients often see them as their advocates. So, it is also integral for them not to falter against the expectations of their patients and treat them smartly and gently.
- Attention to Detail
It is vital for a nurse to pay keen attention to the details in order to avoid any possible mismanagement. A nurse must cope with the hectic schedule and make sure every instruction is followed smoothly. It also includes keeping a check on medical records of patients and their due time of dosage etc.
A nurse is also a coordinator between the patient and the doctor. So to ensure the correct flow of information and keep the doctor updated on every small detail of a patient’s condition, a nurse must be highly attentive. A skillful nurse could easily notice the most subtle change in the patient’s situation and stay alert to inform medical staff to respond promptly at the time of emergency. A nurse also makes sure that the patient is safe from any adverse health events.
- Interpersonal Skills
A certified and skilled nurse always has extraordinary interpersonal qualities and grooms herself in a variety of hectic situations. A nurse should be confident enough to make correct decisions during any calamity and must organize other fellow individuals as a team.
The nursing staff acts as a gel that holds the entire hospital together. They are the advocates of patients, apprentices of doctors and dignity of the hospital or any medical institution. A professional nurse is well learned on how to tackle the proceedings between a doctor and patient seamlessly.
Conclusion
If one has to select nursing as a profession then he or she must know how to make the patients feel at home when they are fighting severe mental and physical battles.