A nursing career can be extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Not only do you make a real difference in other people’s lives, but you also enjoy stable, guaranteed employment and good pay. However, at the same time, you need to work diligently to improve patients’ health and well-being and prevent the spread of diseases. To be successful in your nursing career, there are a number of skills you must have.
Essential skills you need to successfully and effectively perform your role and stand out from the rest include a combination of soft skills and clinical nursing skills. Completing accelerated BSN nursing programs online can equip you with the vital clinical skills you need to provide quality care services. On the other hand, you’ll need to work hard on most of the soft skills to develop core competencies for your career. Below are some of the essential nursing skills you need to succeed as a registered nurse:
1. Communication skills
One of the essential skills you need to excel in your nursing career is excellent communication. Being able to communicate effectively is crucial for nurses since they often need to ask and respond to patients’ questions and explain treatment plans. You need to clearly and accurately communicate patient concerns and medical information, considering they have limited medical knowledge.
Good communication allows you to clearly and compassionately deliver difficult news to patients, their families, and friends and effectively collaborate with other care providers. To succeed in your nursing role, you need to communicate effectively verbally and via other forms of non-verbal communication.
2. Critical thinking
Nursing is a dynamic career. A patient’s healthcare needs may change, and you’ll constantly meet new patients, conditions, and symptoms. You need sound critical thinking to effectively deal with new or unforeseen developments, especially when diagnosing patients or providing care.
For instance, if a patient responds poorly to medication or develops new symptoms, you need to be able to think on your feet to establish possible complicating factors and determine the best way to administer patient care. Good critical thinking abilities can come in handy when determining a diagnosis, interpreting lab results, and assessing patients.
3. Patient assessment
Patient care is one of the core competencies every nurse should have. As a registered nurse, you need to be competent in assessing patient conditions and treatment planning to provide quality care to patients. That means being well-versed in basic clinical skills like checking pulse, monitoring vital signs, and listening for signs of respiratory issues, so you can assess potential health problems and decide what the best course of action is needed.
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These are just but some of the essential skills you need to succeed in your nursing career. As a nurse, equipping yourself with the above essential skills can greatly contribute to your well-being and satisfaction and have a profound impact on your patients and colleagues. Some of these skills will come more naturally, while others will require constant practice to acquire them.
