It's been said many times, "It takes all kinds to make this big 'ole world go 'round." Nurses come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and personalities. These different personalities make us each who we are, but which of these different traits make us good nurses? Nurses Announcements Archive Article
When I was in nursing school, one thing I always remember hearing the instructors say is straight A's are not what makes a good nurse. There's nothing wrong with getting straight A's of course, but it takes a lot more than that to truly be a good nurse.
I believe one of the most important qualities of being a good nurse is having compassion. A nurse with compassion is one who truly cares about her patients well-being and outcome. This nurse treats her patients as she would expect any other nurse to treat herself or own loved ones.
The nurse with experience, not experience as a nurse but as a patient. This nurse applies her own experiences into practice. The only way to truly understand what a patient is going through is to have experienced it yourself. Each nurse has different experiences but at some time almost all of us will experience an ER visit, a surgery, or even labor and delivery as a patient.
Another great quality in a nurse is being non-judgmental.
I know long ago in nursing school we were taught this, but I see it so often and I admit that I've caught myself judging patients.
As an example: "30 year old with back pain coming by ambulance, gotta be a drug seeker." Turned out the patient had a back injury after an accident. It seems that many of these patients being judged are being judged because of known or suspected drug abuse. These people are struggling with an illness; addiction is an illness and should be treated that way. These people have their own stories and struggles that have led them to where they are today, some of these struggles way more difficult than we can ever imagine.
It's important for nurse's to be efficient, one way of doing this is to be part of a team. Working together with others and delegating to other members of your team helps increase your efficiency. Part of being a team is also helping other members of your team. Being efficient helps you to give your patients the best care. There are many aspects to having an effective team, but it's very important that all members of the team are respectful of each other.
Nurses need to be respectful of each other and of their patients. There are many little things about an individual that may drive you crazy, but just remember none of us are perfect. There is probably something about yourself that drives someone else crazy.