Nursing is an honorable field to go into, and people who choose a career in nursing are automatically saying yes to working in selflessness and service. Even though many people enter this field every day, it’s not an easy feat. It takes a special type of person to be able to go with the ebb and flow of changes that happen with each patient and case. No shift is ever the same, and because of this, it’s important to make sure you’re cut out for this type of job. Consider these five signs you might make a good nurse.
1. Patience
Nursing will exercise your ability to remain patient in different situations. When patients are in the hospital or any other medical facility, they’re usually unhappy and impatient. If you allow everyone’s bad mood to affect you, you might snap back or lose your cool. Additionally, if a patient is in pain or if a process is taking a long time, it’s up to the nurse to maintain a spirit of patience and optimism in the midst of a challenging situation. If you’re able to wait and not get flustered in the process, you’d probably make a good nurse.
2. Detail-Oriented
With each shift, nurses administer tons of medication to lots of different patients. It is incredibly important to avoid going on autopilot in a job like nursing. Giving the wrong medication to the wrong patient could be a major mistake. One mistake with medication could easily result in a patient’s death, loss of license, and termination of employment. Every nurse must be detail-oriented and organized. If you find you pay attention to the little things and are a bit one-track minded, you might find this makes for a good fit.
3. Considerate
Considerate people think of others before they think of themselves. When someone comes to the hospital in pain, they don’t care about the nurses’ issues. They are consumed with their own. A nurse needs to be able to put feelings and self to the side in order to administer help to someone else. A good nurse is considerate of family members and visitors who are there in support of the patient as well. It can be difficult to deal with everyone sometimes, but considering the patient and their family can make a world of difference in terms of how they feel, and how quickly they rebound.
4. Caring
When a person is in the hospital, it’s not uncommon for them to desire to be mothered and doted over. Depending on what’s wrong, patients want the help they need, but they also want to know that someone actually cares. Nurses have the ability to calm and relax people, and if you find you love to care for others, this career might be a good direction to go in.
5. Calm
Nurses see a lot of different sites on an hourly basis. An ER nurse might see gunshot wound, mentally ill patients, expectant mothers, and more. On any given night, things can be extremely stressful. In these cases, it is important for stay calm under the pressure.
If you feel like you can identify with these five characteristics, and want to get a job you know you can excel in, now might be the time to enroll in an online BSN degree program. The medical field is always in need of more people like you!