Not everyone can be a great nurse. While this career is extremely rewarding, it takes a very special person to handle the demands of working in healthcare.
As a nurse, you have the ability to make a real impact on people’s lives, and your career can take you virtually anywhere.
But to be a nurse, you have to be willing to work grueling hours, adapt to ever-changing situations and policies, and work face-to-face with the public. It takes a lot more than a degree and some stylish scrub pants for women to be successful nurses!
If you’re thinking about pursuing a career in the nursing field, you need to be realistic with yourself about whether you have what it takes.
Not everyone is cut out for this challenging job, so it’s vital to understand the traits of successful nurses before enrolling in nursing school.
Do you think you would make a great nurse? Check out the top traits of successful nurses to find out!
- Empathy
Empathy is essential for anyone working in the healthcare field. It’s the ability to understand and feel what another person is feeling or “put yourself in someone else’s shoes,” so to speak. A successful nurse must be able to understand how a patient feels and how they perceive their situation.
When a hospitalized patient buzzes for a nurse only to see several nurses walk past their room without stopping in, they can’t see the patient suffering from an emergency in the next room or the dozens of call lights lit up all along the hallway.
They only perceive that they are being ignored.
As a nurse, seeing the situation from the patient’s point of view reminds you of the importance of stopping for just a second to assure them that help is on the way. Those few seconds change the entire experience for the patient, and the most successful nurses are the ones who recognize this.
- Integrity
In addition to providing bedside care, nurses deal with private information, work closely with other healthcare professionals, and more.
They commonly help people on some of the most difficult days of their lives and play a role in helping members of their communities live healthy lives.
Being a nurse is a massive responsibility and is only suitable for those with excellent integrity. Good nurses are honest people who always do what’s right, even when doing the right thing isn’t the easiest option.
- Eager to Learn
Nursing school is just the beginning when it comes to educational requirements for nurses. If you aren’t someone who loves learning new things and staying on top of the latest information and developments, this career path might not be the right one for you.
The best nurses are the ones who are constantly expanding their knowledge and who yearn for additional education. It’s not enough to just be willing to learn new things. You have to be eager to learn.
Whether you are in your first year of nursing or your twentieth, every day is a learning opportunity. The healthcare sector is constantly changing, and medical advancements are being made each and every day.
To provide the best care to your patients, you need to stay on top of all the latest developments. Nurses are required to participate in continuing education for this reason. In most states, participation is mandatory for license renewal.
- Open-Mindedness
No matter where you work, you will find yourself caring for patients from all walks of life. From patients who refuse to vaccinate their children due to safety concerns to patients who decline life-saving treatments for religious reasons to patients who hold personal beliefs that are difficult to accept, nurses have to treat everyone equally — even when it’s extremely difficult to do so.
While you don’t have to agree with your patients’ beliefs and opinions, you do need to be open-minded enough to accept them.
Cultural awareness is crucial for today’s nurses too. You must be comfortable caring for patients who speak different languages and have customs and beliefs that may be drastically different from your own.
You may need to work with interpreters to overcome language barriers or accept that certain patients may not be willing to have you as their nurse for religious or cultural reasons.
You will also need to respect various cultural beliefs regarding modesty and countless other things. Being open-minded and culturally sensitive is essential in providing patient-centered care.
- Flexibility
If you’re looking for a consistent job where you know roughly what to expect each day when you head into work, nursing probably isn’t a suitable career path for you. There is no such thing as a “normal day” for nurses.
For those who are well-suited to the job, that is one of the best parts. Even if you work in a fairly calm clinic, you never know when something might happen that will turn your entire day upside down.
As a nurse, you need to be flexible enough to deal with whatever the day throws at you. It also helps to invest in flexible jogger scrubs for women that will move with you on even your most chaotic days.
Being flexible helps nurses adjust to the ever-evolving healthcare sector. Scientific and technological advancements are taking place in healthcare every day, and you need to be able to adjust to changes with ease. A job in healthcare isn’t the best option for someone who tends to get stuck in their ways.
- Closing Thoughts
The traits above are just a few of the many qualities of excellent nurses. The best nurses are also compassionate, reliable, organized and so much more.
They know how to practice self-care, too, and know when to take a step back to care for themselves.
Being a nurse is a grueling job, and it’s not one that everyone is cut out for. But for those who possess the right traits, it is also an extremely rewarding career path.
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