According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there may be a foreseeable high demand for registered nurses. In fact, statistics show that this demand is expected to grow by a rate of 45% for nurse anesthetists, midwives, and practitioners through 2029.
That explains why more individuals are working to become professional nurses. Unfortunately, the truth to this is that not everyone can become a successful nurse. After all, to succeed as a nurse, you will have to put your personal goals aside and help others in need, even when you are stuck in the trickiest of situations.
Many aspiring nursing candidates enter the nursing field to work in an environment that challenges them physically and mentally as they have a career built around helping others. However, once they enter the nursing field, they find that this success won’t come easily. Not to mention, every successful nurse is constantly competing to acquire new set of skills that allows them to excel in their career.
So, whether you’re training to become a nurse or already working as one, you must cultivate a few essential personality traits and life skills to outshine your competition and survive.
So, let’s explore some of these skills and qualities.
Excellent Academic Standards
As more individuals enter the nursing field, the bar for education qualifications also rises. Further education in the nursing field will help you to remain on top of your competition while opening the door for higher pay and more opportunities. For instance, acquiring an RN to BSN degree allows you to work in specialized nursing roles while also increasing your chances of employment in the healthcare facility of your choice.
You can enhance your qualifications with an online postgraduate nursing course. Online courses are designed for working professionals. You can study part-time while continuing your current nursing role. A further advantage of online study is that you can easily test a master’s program by starting with a shorter course, such as Graduate Certificate in Nursing. A grad cert is essentially a third of a Masters in Nursing degree.
However, before deciding to pursue further education, such as a doctoral degree, consider weighing in your options and reading up the pros and cons of every nursing program. For instance, compare the pros and cons between a DNP vs PhD. While both are doctoral-level nursing degrees, going for either one will help you improve your nursing skills and overall healthcare knowledge.
Stress Management Skills
Stress and pressure are undoubtedly unavoidable when working in the healthcare field, let alone nursing. While some job-related stress can be excellent to challenge your skills and abilities, frequently experiencing it will prevent you from giving your hundred percent. Some reasons for stress in the nursing profession includes; professional conflict, improper management style, and increased workload.
According to a Nursing Times article, about two-thirds of nursing professionals consider hanging up their boots due to work-related stress. However, such a statistic can be lowered by following an appropriate stress management plan. For instance, nurses looking to reduce job-related stress should consider eating a healthy diet, finding a hobby, spending more time with their families, or exercising regularly.
Problem-solving Skills
Quickly and accurately troubleshooting problems is critical to nursing success as such is the nature of the nursing profession. Additionally, every employer, employee, and patient will be different and have different needs and wants. So, if you’re going to improve your problem-solving skills and become more well-rounded as a nurse, see the bigger picture, do proper research, and know what everyone expects from you.
Don’t forget to determine the resources you require to complete nursing tasks more efficiently. After all, having someone to help you in the caregiving process will allow you to perform your job with more success.
Communication Skills
Practical and proper communication skills are a vital component for becoming a successful nurse. After all, you will have your patients’ wellbeing in your hands. Therefore, communication is critical here and nurses are one of the essential healthcare professionals when communicating patients’ vitals and medical conditions to the physician.
Nurses also advocate for their patients and interact with everyone involved in the caregiving process. Typically, nurses can improve their communication skills by making direct eye contact with everyone, asking questions, being personal with staff members and patients, communicating effectively, and much more.
Endurance
Generally, you will have to hone two different endurance skills to become a successful nurse; mental and physical. While working as a nurse, you will likely have to remain on your feet for hours, literally! So, expect to stay mobile while you’re performing your caregiving duties.
While you’re on your way to becoming a successful nurse, you should also consider upgrading your level of endurance to last in the nursing profession. If you don’t, you will probably end up quitting before your nursing career even picks up pace.
To ensure that you have excellent mental and physical endurance, keep your body healthy and look for comfortable gear. Doing so will allow you to have the strength and energy to keep going for hours, especially during night shifts. Moreover, endurance will help you stay determined, dedicated, and focused on the care of your patients and their families.
Time Management Skills
While working as a nurse, you will probably have to take care of numerous patient-related responsibilities, simultaneously. To do this, you may need to build solid time management skills. Doing so will help you delegate and prioritize nursing tasks, allowing you to spend more time with patients that need extra care. Moreover, managing your time more appropriately will make it easier to adapt or react to unplanned situations and avoid a burnout.
During your nursing training and education, you may find the opportunity to build your time management skills. For instance, when enrolled in a nursing degree, you will learn how to balance multiple assignments and deadlines effectively, making it easier for you to adjust to a demanding nursing work environment.
Patience
In such a fast-paced, high-stakes clinical working environment, you will undoubtedly find it difficult to stay calm and patient. Moreover, while working as a nurse, losing your cool could lead to dire consequences. Young nurses often feel the need to do postgraduate clinical training in order to feel more confident and in-control in their daily duties.
Maintaining a rationale, calm disposition leads to more effective decision-making. The decisions you make could end up saving a life. A good nurse should have a strong character to begin with while also striving to be consistently patient in the conduct of clinical practice
Conclusion
Nursing is amongst the noblest of professions that require a ton of qualities and skills to succeed. Such is the case because nurses typically are in direct contact with their patients and healthcare facility staff. Therefore, communication skills, patience, endurance, and time management skills are essential to provide accurate and high-quality care. So, if you want to succeed in the nursing profession, consider the skills mentioned above and try to pace yourself through sustained improvement.