What Does It Take To Be a Nurse?
There are a lot of stereotypes about what it takes to be a nurse and what kind of personalities nurses have. Though there may be some truth to some of it, many of the stereotypes are exaggerated. In fact, there really aren’t any specific qualities or personality traits that you have to have to be a nurse.
However, there are commonalities among exceptional nurses in terms of character traits and the well-honed skills they possess.
Advocacy
The primary duty of the nurse is to be an advocate for those they care for. It is the nurse’s job to ensure the patient gets the care they need from every member of the team. Nurses also have to advocate for their patients despite conflicting familial views. Advocacy is a skill that a nurse must have to provide truly excellent patient care.
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Clinical reasoning
Clinical reasoning is the ability to collect information, perform an assessment, and evaluate the various components to develop a plan of care that supports the patient’s best interests.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is similar to clinical reasoning and just as essential a skill, but it is a bit more complicated. Critical thinking involves analyzing the data and coming up with every possible solution, not just a set conclusion like with clinical reasoning. Nurses need strong critical thinking skills to present the best options to their patients in various situations.
Intuition/instinct
Intuition, or having highly-developed instincts, is a skill that isn’t necessarily required to be a nurse because there are protocols, processes, and resources to do the job without it. However, the best of the best nurses have honed their intuition, which is how these nurses are able to pinpoint issues without concrete evidence.
Time management
Nurses have to do a lot in very little time, which is why time management is probably the most valuable skill a nurse can have. With time management skills, you can control how much time you spend on each task, which tasks need to come first, and the most efficient order in which to do them.
Listening
Active listening is the final skill that nurses need for exceptional nursing practice. Being able to listen to the needs of your patient, the thoughts of your care team, and the beliefs of the patient’s family is the only way to properly manage patient care as a nurse.
Seeing those “superhero” nurses as nursing students or new nurses can fuel self-doubt and anxiety. Although there are qualities and skills that improve the art of nursing and are often found among the best of the best nurses, anyone can become the nurse they aspire to be.
Keep these qualities and skills at the top of your mind as you go through nursing school or begin working in professional practice. You’ll begin to see where you can improve, what you excel at, and the areas in which you are getting better.