Nurses are highly valued. Their demand in the job market keeps increasing. However, to get a job and be successful, you must have certain skills. These skills will make you stand out from the rest. Apart from knowing what is a crisis travel nurse and from the mandatory specialized skills all practitioners need for clinical work, nurses go above and beyond with their skill sets. Nurses must have soft skills too. It includes skills that come from your productive personality traits, such as teamwork and leadership. Nurses get evaluated based on what they have learned through their education or the job. However, soft skills are sometimes essential on the job and can be more valuable.
The more skills you have, the more likely you will get a better job or do better in your field. However, some skills require learning through education. So, the question arises: which degree should one pursue? Nurses have a variety of options they can choose from after they have completed their minimum study requirement. There are many programs one can choose from, either online or in person. For instance, to take your career to the next level, you can opt for higher degrees like MSN or DNP. To decide which degree to choose, you can search online by typing MSN vs DNP to know the exact difference. However, you can pursue the degree best for your goals and also helps you long term. Below we will talk about seven skills, which are essential to upgrade your nursing career.
- Communication Skills
An essential soft skill that nurses must have is communication skill. Even though practitioners and other hospital staff must have good communication skills, nurses require it the most. They have to be with the patient a lot and actively look out for and care for them. Apart from the patients, they also have to communicate with their families and other staff members. They should be good with verbal, non-verbal, and written communication. These skills include active listening and empathizing in case the patient needs to express their feelings. They should also have good speaking and observing skills. Having effective communication skills help in challenging situations.
- Professional Work Ethic
It is necessary to be professional in any career field. Nurses must have a good work ethic and must follow a strict code of conduct. They should never go against moral principles, for example, patient confidentiality. Patients trust them with confidential details, which they must never break. Patient privacy is vital, and releasing sensitive, personal, or medical information without permission from the patient can result in severe consequences. They must also show professionalism while working and always make a decision with rational thinking. At times the life of a person can be in the hands of a nurse. Thus, they should always strictly follow the rules and ethics.
- Distinctive Skills
Some soft skills can set up apart from the rest and make your abilities look unique and distinctive. These include critical thinking, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills. Nurses should also be friendly and helpful, which can be hard during stressful situations, but if you’re looking at improving patient experience ideas, you’ll find that friendliness is a vital skill. These skills will help you in managing tricky work situations. You will be able to handle difficult situations and come up with innovative solutions to those problems. For example, in the emergency room, everything happens quickly. You can make decisions urgently that involve life and death. In these situations, nurses have to be on the top of their game. They must be quick on their feet and quickly make informed decisions to help. Having these skills will help them in making tough calls without getting overwhelmed.
- Teamwork
Nurses must be team players. They have to work alongside other nurses and staff to ensure patients are cared for and everything goes smoothly. All the staff has to work together with a positive attitude. If you are not a team player, you will not do well on the job, and people will not feel comfortable seeking your help either. Your team should be able to delegate work to you and trust you with it. Since hospitals require all the staff members to work together, teamwork is a soft skill you must have. It will help you in your everyday life and will make you provide top-quality patient care.
- Reading Vitals
When we talk about hard skills, monitoring and reading vitals is crucial in nursing. One of the essential responsibilities nurses have is to know how to read and monitor patient vitals. They need to keep checking them in intervals and at times overnight too. As simple as they may seem, checking vitals are necessary. They give information regarding the patient’s health. It helps them decide what treatment, medication, and protocols to follow as well. It also monitors the recovery process and checks how well treatment is working. They should also know how to check blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, respiration, and sugar levels, amongst other things.
- Tech Savvy
You might think nurses don’t require to have good technical skills. However, it is quite the opposite. The importance of technology is quickly evolving in different fields, including nursing. Nurses must have these skills to succeed in their work. They need to use a smart device and knowing how to go about it. They need to be able to read files, family records, vitals, and other patient records. Many hospitals and clinics are advancing towards technology, for example, by using electronic medical records. If nurses do not know how to operate these systems and read files, they will miss out, and some may even risk losing their job. Thus, as technology evolves, so should your skills!
- Emergency Care
It is essential nurses know what to do and how to react in times of an emergency. When such a situation arises, they must act quickly and decide how to proceed and cater to the patient. Every nurse should know basic emergency skills, such as stitching up an injury or dressing wounds. Even if they do not work in the emergency room, some situations may arise where they need to apply their skills to help a patient. Thus, it is vital to know these skills.
Final Thoughts
Nurses must have many skills so that they can help their patients. Learning all these skills will surely give you an advantage over other nurses. It will be a step forward towards upgrading your nursing career. However, you can remember that these skills are not limited and that the more you learn over time, the better it is for you. It is why you should never stop learning and always try your best to make an effort to learn more.
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