5 "Must Haves" for a Nursing Career

5 "Must Haves" for a Nursing Career

Posted by Unknown on Friday, January 28, 2011 0

BsNs++ You will not find this information listed on your State Board of Nursing websites or your nursing school brochures. However, here are 5 traits you must have for a successful nursing career:


1. PATIENCE: That’s “patience” not “patients”. You will be provided your patients but must bring your own patience. You must have a huge internal storage house of patience in order to be a nurse. In a single shift you may have to handle a belligerent patient, an angry family member, a moody peer or supervisor, and a patient who has several “intestinal accidents”. All while having to do your “normal” work tasks. You must temper this day with patience and a sense of humor. Utilize your common sense to realize that none of these situations are personal and you can get through your day with a smile on your face!


2. DILIGENCE: Nursing is not for the worker looking to make a quick buck sitting around on his/her laurels. You must have the diligence and a positive work ethic. You are responsible (literally) for peoples’ lives and you will have to work hard your entire shift to meet their needs and expectations. If you are not diligent, you will not make it in nursing. Your patients, peers, and supervisors expect (and deserve) diligence from you.


3. COMPASSION: Is compassion really a skill? I believe it is. According to Wikipedia, “Compassion (from Latin: "co-suffering") is a virtue —one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others)” (wikipedia.org, n.d.). With this being said, my personal belief is that you are either born with compassion or not. Can a person really be taught to care about people if they do not have that innate ability? I don’t believe so. So dig deep folks and see if you possess true compassion before jumping into the nursing profession. The career is tough work and if you don’t have the inner compassion that drives you because you care, you will never make it! You can’t learn true compassion in acting school…


4. COMMUNICATION SKILLS: If you can not communicate well, to include verbal, written, and listening skills, you are doomed as a nurse. You must be able to understand what your patients are saying (by listening), what orders the doctors are given (by hearing) and reading, and how to effectively chart your activities and talk to your patients and peers.

5. DIPLOMACY SKILLS: Didn’t you know that you had to be a diplomat to be a nurse? You need to learn diplomacy and how to be “politically correct” when working with your patients, physicians, and other staff members. Getting what you need to help care for you patients can be effectively (and quickly) enhanced with exemplary diplomacy. As Dale Carnegie said, “If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive.” Diplomacy will take you a long way in future interactions with those you have been positively diplomatic with.

by Sue Heacock, RN, MBA, COHN-S