6.1: The Professional Nurse

Professional nurses are not limited to bedside care and are taking roles of greater responsibility. A nurse should have a knowledge-based practice, including personal, theoretical, procedural, cultural, and reflexive knowledge. Additionally, nurses must be competent in cognitive, technical, interpersonal, and ethical/legal skills. Some of the best attributes of successful nurses include the following:

Communication skills: These are critical characteristics, especially speaking and listening.

Emotional stability: This skill is crucial for nurses in an emergency, such as accepting a patient's suffering while maintaining their emotions.

Empathy: This is the ability to understand and share the pain and suffering of the patient.

Flexibility: This skill is the ability to adapt. Extending shift hours to take care of patients as and when required.

Physical endurance: A nurse must have a degree of physical endurance, as the physical tasks of the patient and the stamina necessary to stand for long hours are important.

Problem-solving skills: Nurses are natural problem solvers, and the role requires problem-solving skills for quick responses to an emergency, such as attending to a burn victim.

Holistic Care: A nurse should be a holistic caregiver ensuring that the patient's cultural, spiritual, and mental needs are met.

Technologically Savvy: Technology is updated frequently, providing faster access to quality care, and nurses use new technology equipment and updated applications daily. Nurses must instruct patients about the equipment they can use at home. For example, nurses educate patients to monitor glucose levels and record blood pressure at home.

Respect: Nurses respect the individuals they come across. They remain impartial and are mindful of confidentiality.

A professional nurse uses their body of knowledge as a framework for their nursing practice to benefit the health of individuals and the community.

There are some attributes of professional nurses.

Communicating clearly is a critical skill that a nurse relies on when it comes to speaking and listening to patients, families, and communities.

Emotional stability helps nurses deal with traumatic situations—nurses must be empathetic to the pain and suffering of the patients while also providing comfort.

Nurses must be flexible with the demands of the job and have the physical endurance to complete their daily tasks, which may include standing and working for long hours.

Problem-solving skills are needed for addressing tricky situations and responding quickly during an emergency.

Additionally, yet importantly, nurses must treat people with respect and abide by the rules and regulations of the profession. They should remain impartial and be mindful of confidentiality.

Apart from these attributes, a nurse should have a knowledge-based practice. For example, if a situation calls for an evaluation of the prognosis of a clinical condition, the nurse will need to understand the condition and the probabilities of its progression.