What are a range of attributes, values & behaviours of a good nurse?

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · May 21, 2012

What do you think? You're going to be a nurse, so what attributes do you think you need to have in order to be a good nurse? When you observe nurses during clinicals, which ones seem to be the best, and what behaviors make them seem that way? What values could you see being helpful in a nursing career?

I'm asking you to share your thoughts first, because this smells terribly like a homework assignment. I see that you are new to All Nurses. We are happy to help you with your homework, but we will not do it for you. We encourage you to share what you have already come up with and we can help expand on your views and point you in the right direction.

Merlyn · May 21, 2012

I would like to get nasty and say you have to sober at least 8 hrs a day. But it might be a real question. There is a problem no two nurses are alike. We have different attributes and gifts for nursing. We all want to help or we did when we came into this profession. Some of us are bright, idealistic, and young and others are old, burned out, idiots like me. I guess you can take the attributes of the BOY Scouts, you know, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, brave, clean and the rest ( I put brave in there because of my fellow psychic nurses) You have to put in there intelligent. There you have it. What we are or were. We come from all walks of life. I have worked with nurse that were combat harden Marines to Belly Dancers From Ministers to Hookers. All with one thing in mind to leave this world a little less painful than we they came in it.

allnurses Guide · May 22, 2012

Absolutely BRAVE!!

And I don't just mean "brave" as in cleaning stool, inserting needles or dealing with blood.

I mean "brave" as in having to face going outside your comfort zone many times, each and every day.

Everything Merlyn said and honing your acting skills... you have to feign interest, concern, and a darn good poker face.

Even when you sure don't feel like it.

claireem26 · May 22, 2012

Hi, I think a range of attributes are you should be kind, caring, open minded, non Judgemental, honest, trustworthy, knowledgeable, willing to learn, enthusiastic, work well in a team, the list goes on. I think some beliefs are you should you treat everyone as an individual, no two people are the same. Everyone has an equal right to healthcare regardless of colour, gender, marital status etc, everything you do should have the patients best interests put first, not what makes your life easier.One group got personal views, one got political, one got social and we got professional. They want us to find other professional views like other nurses, nmc, rcn, nursing standard etc so thought this site might of been helpful. While some might, and I understand that, I would never 'get someone else to do my homework' for me. I worked hard to get where I am and work hard now I'm here so that statement offends me slightly :-/

allnurses Guide · May 22, 2012

Unfortunately, the gazillion other students before you that have come here expecting others to do their homework for them, have made it harder for students like you.

If you aren't guilty, excuse the general disclaimer and know no one here means to offend.

Merlyn · May 22, 2012

Hi, I think a range of attributes are you should be kind, caring, open minded, non Judgemental, honest, trustworthy, knowledgeable, willing to learn, enthusiastic, work well in a team, the list goes on. I think some beliefs are you should you treat everyone as an individual, no two people are the same. Everyone has an equal right to healthcare regardless of colour, gender, marital status etc, everything you do should have the patients best interests put first, not what makes your life easier.One group got personal views, one got political, one got social and we got professional. They want us to find other professional views like other nurses, nmc, rcn, nursing standard etc so thought this site might of been helpful. While some might, and I understand that, I would never 'get someone else to do my homework' for me. I worked hard to get where I am and work hard now I'm here so that statement offends me slightly :-/

The list of attributes that you compiled is excellent. I think people in schools tend to set impossible standers for nurses. They forget that we nurses are people first and foremost. To think of us as some kind of heroes does us an injustice. We are just everyday walking around human beings with a tremendous capacity for caring. That's it.

IndyElmer · May 22, 2012

If they aren't already in your list of traits, I would also add flexible / adaptable because there's always the plan that you map out for yourself at the start of the day and how your day actually turns out with unplanned crises, new patients, etc. -- and you still need to get everything (or nearly everything) that was on the original list completed, preferably on-time. Being quick on your feet (both literally and figuratively with respects to trouble-shooting & problem solving) goes a long way towards adapting while still getting your whole "to do" list done.

I think it's important to have great analytical skills for collecting and focusing on the right data so you can properly identify problems and get them solved. It helps to be confident in your knowledge and skills while simultaneously being able to know when you need help.

I'm not sure that I'd call it flexibility, but it's also really helpful if you can know when to take to heart a negative interaction so that you can learn from it while simultaneously not letting it damage your self-confidence and when those negative interactions should just be like water rolling off a duck's back because they're really about "issues" emanating from the other person. (I think this one is pretty hard for a lot of students and new nurses.)

Although I mentioned a "plan" I didn't specifically talk about time management and I'm on the fence about whether this is a skill or an "attribute." Some people seem to do it so naturally that it almost seems like an attribute rather than a skill. Either way, you definitely find time management is your friend in nursing school and even more so on the job with "so little time & so much to do"!

I see that you mentioned honesty, and I think most people feel they are honest, but sometimes it can be difficult to be honest, particular about mistakes or near misses. In so many areas of life, we have learned that as long as it was only a "near miss" then we can just say "whew! that was close" and go about our business, grateful that we didn't actually make the error. Often in other areas of our life, if you make a mistake, as long as no one else knows about it, you can pretend it didn't happen. In nursing, most errors and near misses are suppose to be reported/recorded. It can feel surprisingly bad to have to report an error or near miss -- like you're targeting yourself for scrutiny or firing -- but you do it because it's the right thing to do.

[Apologies for being suspicious that your post might be a homework assignment or nursing school application essay question. I've been surprised by how many people are brave enough to post homework assignments wanting others to do the work for them. Once I see someone has tried to answer, I'm happy to contribute if I think I can help. Good luck!]

IndyElmer · May 22, 2012

Not sure if it falls into values or behaviors, but I forgot to mention having sensitivity for cultural differences. Although I think of myself as a thoughtful person, I think it's easy for nursing students and new nurses to miss subtle signs (and sometimes even fairly obvious signs) of cultural discomfort in a patient / patient family because we have to use so much of our brains for thinking about either the task at hand (nothing is second nature yet) or thinking about how we're going to best get through our day and get everything done.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · May 22, 2012

While some might, and I understand that, I would never 'get someone else to do my homework' for me. I worked hard to get where I am and work hard now I'm here so that statement offends me slightly :-/

Don't be offended. As Hygiene Queen said there are so many posts from students that pretty much post their entire homework paper here and ask for the answers. Honestly the question you posted "about the ranges of attributes, values & behaviours of a good nurse" is almost exactly word for word like one I had during my LPN to RN transitional class. So you can see why I thought it was homework you were expected to complete on your own.

SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS · May 22, 2012

Ability to separate what you do from what patients do, like not taking their behaviors personally (I work outpatient with chronic conditions like T2DM). This is something that I actively work on because I was getting burnt out. At the same time, I have to remain caring and invested in their successes. It's a tricky balance. Which leads me to another trait, self-awareness...what do I need to improve? How can I help maintain a culture of improvement within my workplace and support others' efforts? So, then, the flexibility to actually change myself and my practice (for the better) comes next.

Sweety-sweet and nicey-nice are not the traits I consider essential for nursing practice.

Even if this is homework, it's sort of like qualitative research, in which you would depend on others to answer your questions in a deep and thoughtful way. At the end of the day, the researcher has to synthesize all the answers.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 22, 2012

Hi, I think a range of attributes are you should be kind, caring, open minded, non Judgemental, honest, trustworthy, knowledgeable, willing to learn, enthusiastic, work well in a team, the list goes on. I think some beliefs are you should you treat everyone as an individual, no two people are the same. Everyone has an equal right to healthcare regardless of colour, gender, marital status etc, everything you do should have the patients best interests put first, not what makes your life easier.One group got personal views, one got political, one got social and we got professional. They want us to find other professional views like other nurses, nmc, rcn, nursing standard etc so thought this site might of been helpful. While some might, and I understand that, I would never 'get someone else to do my homework' for me. I worked hard to get where I am and work hard now I'm here so that statement offends me slightly :-/

Welcome to AN! The largest nursing online community!

One of the ways we make sure that we aren't doing someones homework we ask for their contribution or what they have done, thought so far. So we can get a feeling for where you are along in the process. I wish I could count the times we ask for contribution of what the poster thinks and they never return. Just a reminder while for the most part you can tell who is a nurse and who is not we are not considered a "reliable" source for college and nursing school for we could be anyone posing as anyone. Ashley is a frequent student helper as am I and Grntea.

There are many ways to ask other nurses as well. Ask you MD's office nurse or a school nurse where you or your children go to school. Go to CVS minute clinic and ask the nurse practitioner. Call your towns board of health/community nurse and ask them.

You have a good grasp on the qualities necessary to be a nurse. I would add flexible, adaptable, tolerant, organized, task oriented, tolerant, able to think on your feet (critical thinking) and a thick skin.

I hope this helps...Good Luck!!!