What Makes a Great Nurse

[nkochrn]

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.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

"Compassion" is a lot more than you think. It is actually not what you say, which was, "A nurse with compassion is one who truly cares about her patients (sic) well-being and outcome. This nurse treats her patients as she would expect any other nurse to treat herself or own loved ones."

Nice idea, but not remotely relevant to the concept.

Read this carefully. Compassion is defined as "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." The "sympathy" part is also generally misunderstood, as it has connotations of pity, expressing sorrow at a loss, for example. But sympathy means "harmony of or agreement in feeling, as between persons or on the part of one person with respect to another, the harmony of feeling naturally existing between persons of like tastes or opinion or of congenial dispositions, the fact or power of sharing the feelings of another, especially in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling, compassion, or commiseration."

Compassion, therefore, absolutely requires the ability to put oneself in the other's position and fully imagine (not guess) at that person's feelings, needs, and fears, to feel the same as that person. This is far different from what you describe.

It is, however, a necessary attribute of an effective nurse. This is because we must recognize that the patient is the one with the disease (thanks, House of God), and, most importantly, the patient is in charge of the treatment plan. We might not like a patient's decision but we are honor bound to understand and accept it.

THAT is compassion, feeling together.

Without a keen understanding of this very key concept, one can never understand what it takes "to be a great nurse."

BRAVO! One thousand 'Likes" !

[klriggs53]

Hi, Good article. I am only still in the pre-req stage in my journey, but there is one thing about your article that REALLY, and I mean REALLY bothers me. It is about addiction being a disease... Now, even if the medical and nursing community can TECHNICALLY give a million reasons why a pt's addiction is similar to (or, as is claimed) an ACTUAL disease, I have to point out a certain piece of information that is akin to shouting " The Emperer has no clothes..." These addicts CHOSE to take whatever substance they are addicted to that first (or second, or third or 50th time...), knowing that the possibility of them becoming addicts existed.

I know as an aspiring Nurse that I'm supposed to sympathize with these people-and make no mistake, once I am an RN I will do what is expected of me regardless of my personal feelings- but they made their bed, and now they expect the rest of us to lie in it with them... I'm sorry but I don't agree. Many of these addicts are going to the ER on the taxpayers dime, and I personally think that this needs to stop.

I enjoyed your comment. The subject of addiction is one of those "Juxtaposition" topics. If and when you pull time as a nurse on a Behavioral Health Unit, Oncology, or Hospice Unit, I strongly suspect your thoughts on the subject may soften a bit. The truth be known, we all have our own addictions, ranging from table sugar, to heroin, to the touch of a loved one. Far be it from me to judge, as a nurse, we need to be cognizant of the void that may exist when you take away the addiction, and vigilant with regards to the consequences that occur when that happens. A doctor in the field told me many years ago " Before you take something away, be very sure there is something to take the place . . . hopefully something good and healthy." Food for thought.

[heather7781, BSN, RN]

Many of them did not chose to become an addict. There are many people that are dependent but we call them addicts and there is a difference. You will hopefully learn that with experience. People have traumatic, incredibly painful things happen to them, take their medications as prescribed and become addicted to them. Compassion is the key ingredient to understanding the difference!

[CelticGoddess, BSN, RN]

Lol, I thought I was being called "Poochiewoochie," (with my handle being a mutt) lol, hahaha!

I was like, . . . Now when did I say this, and this, and. .why am I being called "Poochiewoochie," . . .

but then I found the real "Poochiewoochie!" So I don't have to type another long winded post after all! Thank God!

As far as judgement and bias goes, the words "VIP" on a chart boils my blood, and gets my stereotyper in high gear!!!! I can't stand to think that management thinks, "They'll know now to treat this patients EGO!"

My facility doesn't put VIP on pt chart thank the Goddess. And we have had some VIP's. The head of the division I work for has been our patient multiple times. He is most definitely a VIP. There have been others. I am thankful they don't do that! We are expected to treat all our patients the same. The only moniker we put on a chart is Alias. And this is for those who are being protected for one reason or another.

[TrishaMatthews]

Great article. But as much as I would like to say nurses need to possess virtues of kindness and compassion, grades do matter. As nurses in today's society, we are valued and respected by patients and their families. Our opinions do matter and reflect in the care that a patient receives. It is important that nurses be highly educated and motivated to get the best grades possible in order to become smart nurses who are able to think critically at the bedside.