Nursing is a field that demands much of those who pursue it. Long hours and the strain of working with ill and stressed people on a daily basis can make it a very difficult challenge. If you are currently in the nursing field or are considering pursuing this career, here is a list of the top 10 traits every nurse should have/be:
A Caring Nature:If a person cannot care about the people they are serving, they will not excel as a nurse. Nurses deal with the sick and injured and their families on a daily basis, and they need to be able to show them that they truly care about their situation.
Be Empathetic:Nurses regularly deal with people who are scared and in pain. They must be able to put themselves in their patients’ shoes if they are going to give them the quality of care that a good nurse provides.
Be Detail-Oriented: Nurses must remember to write everything they do on patients’ charts. They must also remember to bring medications at the correct times. Being an organized detail-oriented person is therefore crucial for someone in this career field.
Be Emotionally Stable:Nurses feel the joy of seeing a new baby born, followed by the pain of losing a long-term patient who had become a friend. Emotional stability is crucial in order to survive the roller coaster ride of emotions nurses must endure on a daily basis.
Be Adaptable: No day is quite like the next when you work as a nurse, so they need to be able to adapt to circumstances. People are unpredictable at the best of times, but under stress become even more unpredictable, so a nurse’s typical workday will require flexibility and adaptability.
Have Physical Endurance:Breaks for nurses are few and far between. They are on their feet all day, sometimes for 12 or more hours at a time, so nurses must have good physical endurance to succeed in nursing.
Be a Quick Thinker: When a nurse notices something is not right with a patient, they need to be able to make decisions quickly and put their plans into action instantly. Nursing is not the career for someone who needs time to think about a situation before responding, because even a fraction of a second can mean the difference between life and death.
Have Great Judgement:A nurse must be able to look at a patient’s current state and accurately assess what is or is not needed. This must happen quickly during emergencies. Nurses therefore need sound judgment and maturity.
Be Hard-Working:Nursing is a never ending job. Someone is always ill and in need of some sort of aid or attention. Its also unusual for a hospital or medical centre to be overstaffed, which of course means more workload on each nurse in the unit. Being a hard worker is therefore a very important trait.
Have Great Communication Skills:Nurses communicate with each other, doctors, patients, and patients’ families on a daily basis, so being able to communicate clearly and effectively, and to read people is necessary for people in this career
Conclusion: Nursing is a difficult career. There is no doubt about it. However, it can also be an extremely rewarding career given the right personality. Certainly, the more of the traits above you have as an individual, the more likely nursing is the career for you.
