Nursing is one of the most respectable career choices due to the immense knowledge and expertise required to diagnose and treat diseases. Although education capabilities are crucial in developing ideal treatment plans that will steer patients to recovery, additional social skills, part of a nurse’s personality, contribute to the quality of care a patient will receive. These skills are not part of the school’s curriculum, but nurses can quickly learn about them through experience.
These skills are necessary for creating the perfect environment for patients and fellow nurses. Before students become nurses, they need to appreciate their role in providing physical and emotional care. Some of the most fundamental clinical skills for nurses that you will be learning and developing in your practice include:
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Emotional support
Health care institutions can be stressful environments for patients and fellow care providers. Nurses are responsible for providing necessary emotional support crucial in promoting patient recovery. Patients are vulnerable to mental health concerns, especially those with chronic illnesses. Nurses should be ready to analyze high-pressure situations and relieve any stress, and anxiety patients might have due to their condition. Fellow nurses also undergo stress, and being there for them by providing loving arms can help them control their emotions and relieve burnout.
Empathy
Nurses should be compassionate, which helps them appreciate what patients and their loved ones are going through during stressful times. It is difficult to provide adequate emotional support to those around you if you lack empathy. Empathy allows you to put yourself in another’s situation and appreciate what they need; you can understand what they need. This skill also allows you to connect with patients and colleagues emotionally, making meaningful interactions that help patients feel less alone.
Effective communication
Sometimes nurses need to work in teams, especially when developing treatment and care plans. It is essential to communicate clearly for an effective exchange of ideas. Communication skills are also crucial during nurse-patient interactions. Effective communication does not only include knowing what to say but appreciating your audience. For example, you would not speak to a child the same way you would to a grown-up. Nurses who appreciate different settings can adapt this skill to interact with others effectively.
Professionalism
There is a fine line between caring for patients and being unprofessional. You need to set clear boundaries that will help your patients understand that it is your job to care for them and ensure that they recover without being too friendly to a point where they lose respect for you. One way to remain professional is to follow protocol.
Do not skip any step in your treatment and care plan. Also, control your emotions, especially when under stressful situations. If you have any opinions about a patient’s lifestyle choices, it would be best to keep them to yourself, significantly if they do not influence their well-being.
Flexibility
Health care institutions are ever-changing environments. Nurses face unexpected situations daily. You should be flexible in your mindset, especially when the healthcare industry is constantly evolving and developing new treatments and care plans that will promote patient recovery.
Teamwork
Although you might be confident in your knowledge and expertise to provide quality care, you will need the help of colleagues to develop solutions for unfamiliar situations during your practice. A great nurse appreciates the significance of teamwork. Whenever you are unsure about what course you need to take during clinical practice, ask your colleague for a helping hand instead of attempting to solve the problem independently and making a mistake that would reap adverse consequences.
Discipline
Nurses have a lot of work to deal with daily. It would be wise not to multitask responsibilities lest you fail to deliver solutions to your full capabilities. Nurses should focus on completing one take before proceeding to the next. Discipline is a skill that promotes efficiency because it pushes a nurse to complete every step of a treatment plan to ensure maximum patient recovery.
Passion
The only way to prevent nurse burnout is to be passionate about care provision. Nurses spend a lot of time inwards caring for patients. The best way to stay motivated and give your all is to love your job and appreciate your contribution to ensuring a quality life for your patients.
Nurses must appreciate the skills mentioned above and do what it takes to learn them to enhance the quality of care.
