What are the most essential qualities that a good nurse should possess

What are the most essential qualities that a good nurse should possess ?

Nursing is more than a job; it is truly a calling. What makes you a good nurse? It takes a special type of compassionate personality, sereneness, and great fortitude to care for people who are sick and in dire need of help.  A great career in nursing requires a special set of skills and personality traits, above and beyond its demanding education and testing requirements. Comprehending the characteristics of a good nurse is important to hospitals and healthcare systems who aim to attract and retain the best nursing talent.

In this blog let us explore some of the essential traits that you should possess as a good nurse.

Caring

Most people assume that all nurses choose the profession because “caring” is one of their top attributes, although this shouldn’t always be considered to be a nursing trait. Many nurses who select for the nursing career path do so because they value work security and want to use it as a springboard for another career.

However, compassion is a nursing trait that is noticed the most by patients. A nurse’s performance in the nursing field will be greatly influenced by how naturally inclined they are to genuinely care about how their patients feel (and, consequently, how well they perform their job). 

Communication Skills

Strong communication abilities are essential for every nurse. Effective communication with other nurses, doctors, different units, patients, and their families is essential to a nurse’s job. 

Medical errors are more likely to happen when communication is improperly interpreted and conveyed, patients frequently feel ignored or uninformed, and the entire unit will suffer as a result. Nurses will deliver safer care and benefit their patients, their unit, the entire hospital/health system, not to mention their long-term career, by prioritizing and practicing communication skills.

Empathy

It can be all too easy for nurses to lose their sense of empathy or to forget what it was like to be a “nonclinical” person because they may care for numerous patients in the course of their career. Empathy with each patient and a genuine attempt to put themselves in their patients’ position are qualities of a good nurse. 

Nurses who show empathy will most likely treat their patients like “humans” and focus on a person-centered care policy rather than rigorously sticking to standard procedures. When patients are fortunate enough to encounter these qualities of a competent nurse, it improves their experience of receiving treatment.

Problem-Solving Skills

Although a nurse receives clinical information and training throughout their education, the best approach to develop their problem-solving abilities is through on-the-job training. Although years of practice can aid in honing this ability, some nurses are born with greater problem-solving abilities as part of their attributes and traits. 

Given that nurses spend the most one-on-one time with patients and are frequently in charge of making the majority of the decisions regarding their care, problem-solving abilities are crucial in the nursing profession. Even seemingly insignificant choices, if done improperly, can have significant effects and lead to negative patient outcomes. 

Eagerness to learn new things

More time is spent at the patient’s bedside by nurses than by any other healthcare professional, and one of the most important qualities of a competent nurse is their openness to learning and applying new information. 

Multidisciplinary training, individualized learning, and other advancements in educational strategies can support successful learning environments, but to be genuinely helpful, a good nurse must have a natural desire to learn. From young graduates to seasoned professionals all nurses should possess this trait.

Critical thinking ability

While having a strong desire to learn is a key quality in a skilled nurse, it also needs critical thinking skills to apply knowledge effectively, especially in high-stress situations. One of the most significant traits of a qualified nurse is having highly developed critical thinking abilities.

After years of schooling and training, a nurse must be able to think critically in order to apply clinical recommendations and best practices on the floor.  A nurse’s critical thinking skills will be immediately noticed by the leadership, other nurses and eventually patients. Although this ability can be developed with practice, some nurses are more naturally gifted at it than others. 

Time Management skills

During a 12-hour shift handling multiple patients under stressful care situations and competing priorities is no small accomplishment. Effective time management skills and the capacity to focus on the most important concerns first—which may not always be the patient or family who is demanding the most—are important personality traits for nurses. 

Another key element of time management is making time for oneself. During a particularly demanding 12-hour shift, refusing to take a small break or regroup won’t be helpful to anyone involved in the care process. 

Conclusion

If you consider yourself a good nurse will all the above traits, you have a great future ahead of you in international nursing.  Contact our experts at MWT Education Consultancy who will help you all the information you need and assist you with the required paperwork to launch your international career in nursing.