Prospective nursing student

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Dec 9, 2009

I'm a current nursing student, and from what I've experienced and been told, there are a number of qualities that you'll want as a nurse. I think the biggest qualities are compassion, courage, critical thinking and integrity.

Compassion - You need to want what's best for the patient, be able to empathize with them, and do all you can for them. The patient needs to come before anyone else: before the doctor, before the family, before you.

Courage - you need to have the guts to do the right thing for the patient, even if this means standing up to physicians and administrators. Some of these people have huge egos, and think you're "just a nurse". You need the nerve to stand up to this.

Critical Thinking Skills - You need to be able to "put it all together". Symptoms, lab data, vital signs, drug knowledge, knowledge of the body, common sense... you need to be able to put this all together and make decisions to intervene to help your patient. Sometimes, very, very quickly.

Integrity - You need to be accountable for your actions. If you make a mistake, you need to be able to admit it. Problems only snowball with nurses and doctors who, in an attempt to save face, try to make it look like they didn't make an error. It will bite you in the behind. You also need to be able to look out for the actions of your co-workers who might be doing unsavory things as well, and be willing to do something about it.

Nursing is awesome, you're going to love it. The last thing I'd say is develop good study habits while you're a student. Learn to plan ahead and not cram at the last minute. Hope this helps.

serenity1111 · Dec 9, 2009

In order to be a successful nurse you must first pass school and boards. This is no small feat. I am a nursing student who will hopefully graduate in May. My life for the past 4 years has revolved around school and studying. It is by far the hardest thing I've ever done. It takes a lot of time, committment, and tears. But it is also a great experience and I will be a professional who actually worked hard to get where she's at. If you are ready to dedicate almost all your time to school, then go for it!

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2009

Most important skills:

Flexibility in thinking, and dealing/coping well under the greatest of stresses.

RNandRRT · Dec 9, 2009

The desire to treat every patient as if they were your loved one.

danse · Dec 9, 2009

I changed careers and became a nurse about a year ago. Don't worry about school its actually easy don't let people stress you out about school. Its just a matter of paying your dues in writing papers and busy work. Don't get caught up with the students who are chicken little. As to the NCLEX think about this, the test is to determine the minimum level of knowledge and safety to practice. If you can pass nursing tests you can pass the NCLEX. To get through it you just have to relax and take things as they come. To be a successful nurse, I think the biggest assest of solid nurses is being very pragmatic about things. If you want an idea or look at nursing, go work at a tech and watch the nurses you will see good ones and bad ones. Remember you can learn a lot from a bad nurse in how not to do something. When you start working, pitch in to help others, that goes a long way for getting a good rep.

Nemo0n · Dec 10, 2009

Thank you all for your helpful replies. Considering the charactersics Samwestonpotter listed, I guess I might be suitable for this role. However, critical thinking is something I need to work on since ,almost always, I become stressed out with the complexity of the sitution. Also,as Danse mentioned I'll try take things as they come.