What personalities traits are necessary for success and happiness in nursing?

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 27, 2012

on light of the, i must say determination, dedication, dependability, and a dash of super hero nurse, in order to deal with all of the bureaucracy, and anarchy that nursing bestows upon us nurses.

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 27, 2012

i figure that everyone is exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be. so perhaps the best way to be happy in your career as a nurse is to make up your mind that you're going to be. you cannot effect what happens to you, but you have complete control over how you deal with it.

as far as qualities required for a nurse: dependability, honesty and a healthy sense of humor.

chevyv, BSN, RN · May 27, 2012

I too think a healthy sense of humor is important along with a bit of empathy, the desire to play well in the sandbox with others always helps as well. Maybe mix in a good portion of common sense and the ability to put on a poker face when things are getting a bit rough, and the ability to learn how to multi-task. It sure is hard to listen to someone complain about something trivial when you just assisted in a code and there is a family member waiting to talk to you on the phone, and so and so down the hall just fell.......

Dixielee, BSN, RN · May 27, 2012

i figure that everyone is exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be. so perhaps the best way to be happy in your career as a nurse is to make up your mind that you're going to be. you cannot effect what happens to you, but you have complete control over how you deal with it.

as far as qualities required for a nurse: dependability, honesty and a healthy sense of humor.

my sentiments exactly!! you are in control of your destiny! i sound like darth vadar, but it is the truth!

ixchel · May 27, 2012

So superman+Darth Vader+Wanda Sykes=kick ass nurse? Love these responses! Keep 'Em coming!

IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN · May 27, 2012

My sentiments exactly!! You are in control of your destiny! I sound like Darth Vadar, but it is the truth!

Just so long as you don't claim to be Luke's father... :eek:

----- Dave

whichone'spink, BSN, RN · May 27, 2012

Be dependable, be honest, be diligent, be conscientious, and be empathetic and kind.

Whispera, MSN, RN · May 27, 2012

ability to multitask, patience, coping skills....

Aongroup1990, CNA · May 27, 2012

Just be yourself.

Patti_RN · May 27, 2012

The skill that has been most beneficial to me in many areas of life is organization. Being incredibly organized (which, by the way I'm not in every aspect of my life!) can help a person overcome all kinds of weaknesses. The places where I'm not well organized are the places where I struggle, waste time, fail to achieve my goals, and don't excell.

Think about it: in school, if you wrote down your homework, knew where your books were, had the right supplies, and had a clear desk to work on, assignments were easier, you turned them in on time, spent whatever time you need to on actually DOING the assignment rather than hunting for your book, calling your friends to see what the assignment was, and sorting through papers looking for your rough draft. The same thing applies to your family finances, cleaning your house, getting dressed in the morning, and being a nurse.

Keep yourself organized. Know what you need to do, have the things with you that you'll need to carry out your work (making numerous trips to the supply room when you're with a patient takes more time than the dressing change or whatever you're doing). Have your stethoscope, your pen, your scissors, etc. I used to carry a pocketful of supplies 'just in case', but found that if I took a few minutes and figured out exactly what I needed I'd be able to carry out duties without hoping I had the right equipment. It's helpful to write stuff down if you're afraid you'll forget.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · May 27, 2012

I think resilience, optimism, calm, even-natured temperament and a good sense of humor are needed in addition to intellectual and technical skills to do a good job while maintaining one's emotional equilibrium! So basically you need to be superhuman! Not too many people have all these traits rolled into one! Nursing is a roller coaster ride of emotions and stress inducing situations that you will find yourself "trapped" in too many times to count. You need "mind" armour as well as body armour so to speak to deal with the impossible situations you will find yourself in. The times you are overloaded and overworked and the supervisor responds by adding another admission, then second guesses your actions when in a given situation, where you know you did everything right, everything you could, and the supervisor couldn't begin to handle the situation, yet can second guess and judge you and tell you how you should have done things.

I've even had a supervisor get in my face for not changing the doctors mind on a given order, it was an appropriate order but the supervisor would have preferred I tell the doctor to consider a different med to treat the patient. Yes there are many possible meds for various treatments, but I don't think it's my place to tell the doctor, sorry try again. If they are actually treating the problem who am I to say sorry your wrong, try again! I certainly advocate for my patients if they are not getting the care they need, but I'm not about to play dr and say you should give this med instead of that due to management politics! If that's what they want then they can get a protocol in place for the future! I find the whole thing disrespectful to me and to the dr and it galls me that someone who couldn't do my job has the nerve to tell me what I should do and what the dr should do!