Nursing is one of your professional aspirations and you might like to practise this profession? Let’s discover together the importance of the role of nurses in the health system, but also the essential qualities to become an accomplished nurse. What are the personal and professional qualities required to provide adequate care and protect the well-being of patients?
Personal Qualities of a Nurse
Before even thinking about the skills required to work in a care setting, a hospital, a clinic or any public health environment, a nurse must possess several personal qualities to contribute to the success of her career by keeping her patients in mind.
Empathy and Compassion
Consulting medical personnel can be stressful, scary, and sometimes even upsetting. Conversing with a nurse filled with empathy and compassion is therefore essential to open up. Knowing that a nurse can put herself in our shoes and understand what we are going through can relieve these strong emotions.
Patience and Tolerance
Demonstrating an open-mindedness in all objectivity is a primary quality of a nurse, as are patience and tolerance. Knowing how to keep your cool remains very practical in problematic circumstances or which test our limits, but these skills will allow encounters with patients to always run optimally.
Adaptability and Flexibility
Unfortunately, it is well known that the nursing profession often requires long working hours, without a classic 9 to 5 schedule, since care is required day and night, 24/7. You must therefore have sufficient stamina and motivation to come into this type of environment.
In addition, it is not uncommon to experience the implementation of new protocols or new technologies or machines, or even entire computer systems. A nurse must remain adaptable and flexible through these changes.
Ability to Communicate Effectively
When we interact with people daily, communication is an essential aspect of our work. Knowing how to communicate effectively, clearly and without confusion with patients, their families and your work team is part of a nurse’s responsibilities, while remaining discreet.
Good Stress Management
As health and care environments can change rapidly, demonstrating the ability to work under pressure in an emergency situation is self-evident. It is also the case of efficient organization skills to avoid misunderstandings, errors and glitches that could affect the care of the people under your responsibility.
Discover what the nurses thought of their experiences working with Solutions Nursing thanks to these testimonials.
Professional Qualities of a Nurse
Now that we have covered the personal qualities that are important for working well as a nurse, let’s see the elements of a professional nature that come into play in your work and will contribute to guarantee professional recognition.
Solid Medical Knowledge
As you can imagine, training in nursing is the first step in a professional career, whether it is a college diploma (DEC) or a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BAC).
Thereafter, an exam and registration with the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ) is mandatory, as are practical internships that prepare you for your work environments. Without this path you would not be able to demonstrate solid medical knowledge!
Technical Skills
Once the concepts are integrated, it is also necessary to be able to use technical skills, particularly in these fields of expertise reserved for nurses:
– Provide basic care
– Adequately measure vital signs
– Check the health of a patient
– Give injections and put on bandages
– Carry out the care, follow-up and manage medical files
– Give medication according to the recommended dosage
It is also important to understand medical jargon to interact well with your team, but also to constantly update your knowledge according to the evolution of the profession.
Team Spirit and Collaboration
You will work as a nurse with a host of people with different skills, knowledge, roles, and personalities, from the orderly to different doctors. Having an unparalleled team spirit and a sense of collaboration will help make your days more enjoyable.
Professional Ethics
Professional ethics for a nurse encompass all the principles and moral values that guide her practice. This involves respecting the dignity, autonomy, and rights of patients, maintaining confidentiality of information, providing equitable and quality care, acting with integrity, fostering interprofessional collaboration and achieving lifelong learning to competent and ethical practice.
Do you think you have these personal and professional qualities? Browse through the different job offers and mandates available to you, then send us your CV to collaborate!