While there are a plethora of nurses that schools churn out every year, it is still difficult to sift through them and find the one suitable for your needs. Whether you are part of the management of a nursing home looking for skilled nurses or an individual in search of a nurse for home care, there are certain sought-out skills that make a nurse good at her job.
If you find a nurse who possesses the following skills, hire him or her on the spot:
Good with People:
A nurse’s job involves communicating daily and constantly and most of the times, the person on the other end is a patient or the concerned friend/family member of the patient. Other communication needs involve communicating with hospital staff, superiors, and doctors. All these job requirements ask the nurse to be very good at communication. Any kind of miscommunication or rude behavior will not be unacceptable, but will also affect the emotional state of patients and their concerned ones. Good nurses will always be polite, direct and empathetic, regardless of the number of hours they have been on duty or how bad their day was.
Intellect and Insight:
All nurses will know about the medical procedures and actions to be taken in different situations. They all are trained after all. Despite complete training and certifications, only a few nurses actually have the brains and insight to act at the moment, especially when dealing with emergency situations. A nurse should also be able to stay calm and collected in most cases of duress. A smart nurse will also be able to improvise and come up with new and smarter ways to make living comfortable for the patients.
Work Ethics and Consistency:
This involves almost everything. From dressing to performing their jobs, from daily presence to being reliable, a good nurse must have the ability to perform the job by work following work codes and ethics. Showing up on time and doing right by everyone should be their method of operation.
Passion:
Caring for the old and sick is a job that not only requires knowledge, skills, and professionalism; a job like this also asks for a passion for human lives and compassion for other people’s pain. Only a nurse who takes their job as a passion will actually be able to make a difference in someone’s life. Patients do not require a grumpy and ill-tempered nurse to take care of them, no matter how good she is at her job. Only passion for this job could help a nurse save numbers of lives daily.
Stamina:
Nursing is not an easy job. It demands 24 hours of physical exertion, emotional stress, and mental duress. A nurse should be physically and emotionally fit, with a healthy lifestyle and proper eating habits. The nursing job requires energy and alertness at all times; so, a nurse must have the lasting stamina to stay true to her job.
Aside from the certificates and educational backing, a good nurse should have all the above-mentioned skills to be exceptional at her job.