If you’re considering nursing as a future career, you’ll be making an excellent choice if you decide to pursue it.
This career path is hugely rewarding. After all, nurses can make a huge difference in people’s lives – and contribute significantly to running vital medical organizations and facilities that play a huge part in the nation’s health.
It’s also a fascinating line of work that can be a pathway to significant financial returns. It will constantly see you engaging with new people – from patients to mentors to like-minded colleagues.
Every day presents a new and interesting challenge, making nursing an ideal career for anyone who likes to be constantly engaged and active. In fact, there are a number of traits that constitute a perfect match for a role of this kind, and the great news is: anyone can cultivate them!
In this article, we explore the personality facets that make a great nurse and look into the approaches you can take to start your career in the most effective way possible.
Patient attention to detail
Of course, there are many jobs that require care and patience, but nursing demands this trait for a number of reasons.
As a medical professional, you will need the ability to listen carefully and give your full attention without jumping to conclusions.
After all, you and the doctors and other medical specialists in your workplace will often need to be on the lookout for specific clues arising from your discussion with the patients with whom you interact. This can aid in diagnosis, the development of a treatment plan and even safeguarding approaches.
You’ll also need to pay close attention throughout your training. After all, there is a great deal to take in – from various policies and procedures to treatment techniques and the names of drugs.
This doesn’t stop when you’re qualified; you’ll need to be mentally present and alert at all times when you’re on shift.
A great way to develop your listening skills, improve your levels of attention and increase your ability to retain information is to practice active listening – a technique that helps you to “actively participate” in conversations and interactions for improved communication.
Friendliness
Nurses are always surrounded by people: colleagues, patients and their family members, doctors, surgeons, other medical specialists and educators, to name just a few. This means that being confident and sociable will stand you in great stead for a career of this kind.
If you’re naturally a little more reserved, that’s fine! You don’t need to be particularly loud or chatty to be a good nurse – it’s just important that you are comfortable communicating with plenty of different people in a range of positions.
A great way to practice this skill is to attend mixers, networking events and social engagements regularly and challenge yourself to make plenty of conversation.
Of course, if you’re about to start training, you’ll meet plenty of other future nurses who may also be keen to develop their communication skills and confidence further.
A love of learning
As we mentioned above, healthcare specialists never stop learning. With medicine constantly advancing, new diagnostic techniques coming to the fore and a growing wealth of additional skills and equipment with which to become familiar, you’ll be expected to take on new information constantly.
This may sound very challenging, but it will become second nature to you as you progress in your new role.
You’ll be well-supported in your learning from the moment your training starts – whether you’ll be working towards your qualification in person or via an accelerated nursing program online from an institution such as Baylor University.
The organization that provides your training will aid you in developing strong study techniques to make sure you can easily stay up to date with everything you are taught.
Strong organizational skills
Nurses are often very busy and are expected to be able to juggle and prioritize multiple tasks at the same time. Again, while this may sound quite demanding, you’ll soon perfect your own methods to manage your time and stay organized as you gain experience on the job.
Using a planner, creating a study schedule and taking clear, careful notes will serve as great practice for you as you train – and the techniques you develop will be easily transferable to your first placement and throughout your career.
Mental and physical stamina
As a nurse, it’s very likely that you will be on your feet a great deal. You’ll also need to be able to concentrate from the start of your shift until the end to avoid mistakes and keep track of all your tasks.
It can be a tiring job, but it is also extremely rewarding – and keeping everything in this context may well help you to keep your energy and focus up.
As with your ability to retain information and to stay organized, mental and physical resilience is certainly something that you can consciously develop.
Remember, however: everyone has different stamina levels. You and your colleagues should always keep this in mind throughout your shifts and be ready to support one another when needed.
After all, being constantly “on the go” can be tough. For this reason, it’s important to eat well, take time to relax and look after your mental health – particularly during busy times.
One of the many great things about nursing is that there are no specific “personality types” or niche talents required that cannot be learned or developed during your training or in your spare time.
Attention to detail, friendliness, love of learning, organizational skills and stamina are all things that anyone can pick up with effort and practice.
This makes nursing a fantastic career path for anyone and everyone interested – no matter their background or skill set.
