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Do you dream of becoming an expert nurse? This noble profession requires more than subject-based knowledge. You cannot imagine a healthcare system without nurses. They not only take care of the patients but also motivate them to recover quickly.
It is regarded as a rewarding career. There is hardly such care and compassion evident in any other field as in nursing. It is also one of the most attractive careers for medical students. They prepare for the CNA (certified nursing assistant) exam through the CNA practice test.
People mostly focus on qualifications and ignore some essential qualities. This article focuses on the skills and qualities you need as a certified nursing assistant.
What Does a CNA Do?
A certified nursing assistant is responsible for providing healthcare services to patients. Other duties include providing them with the support to do routine activities. A CNA’s duties include helping them eat, walk, stand, bathe, exercise, or dress. If you have been considering becoming a nurse lately, you must meet the required criteria. It includes relevant degrees, certifications, training, and skills.
9 Qualities of a Good Nurse
Once you get your certified nursing assistant certification, you can begin your career. We have prepared a list of some qualities that ensure that one is capable of becoming a nurse. Let’s have a look at them.
Compassion
Compassion and empathy are essential in nursing. This is what urges you to care for the ailing ones. It involves understanding the pains of others and being considerate of them. This motive urges nurses to walk the extra mile for their patients. It motivates them to think not only about the physical needs but also the emotional and social needs of the patient.
Changing the bandage is a part of the job. Talking some words of kindness with the patients, asking about their progress, and well-wishing them are all that make a nurse compassionate. This is the essence that makes nursing a noble profession.
Physical Stamina
Taking care of patients requires energy. To become an efficient nurse, you need to be physically healthy. You must possess good physical stamina that allows you to work long shifts of duty. You also need to be energetic and flexible. You might need to stand, bend, lift, and turn quickly while holding or supporting a patient.
During emergency cases, you might even have to do more hectic jobs. This is where your stamina comes into action. This makes your life as a CNA much easier.
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Communication Skills
Effective communication is an integral part of a CNA’s job. This is such a powerful quality that helps you connect with your patients. You can use your words to accelerate the healing process for them also. Not only this, but you also have to communicate critical information to the family members of the family.
Reporting the progress and condition of a patient to the doctor is also an important job role. All these things require strong communication skills in action.
Emotional Strength
A nursing school job can be emotionally overwhelming. Each day you have to deal with several patients. You might experience a range of different emotions in a day. All of them might not be good, encouraging, and satisfying. You will have to tackle sadness, stress, and frustration as well.
You need emotional strength to manage your emotions and not let them affect your job duties. You must have the nerve to stabilize your emotions and prioritize your duties over any other thing.
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Critical Thinking
Critical thinking enables a nursing aide to process information and draw rational conclusions. This is a major part of what CNAs do in hospitals. Different health issues require an immediate response from health care providers. The ability to analyze a situation critically and respond accordingly is essential for nurses.
Although nurses are not always involved in decision-making, much of their job includes predetermined activities. Still, decision-making is not inevitable for them. To come out of stressful situations and emergencies, critical thinking is a vital tool.
Attention to Detail
Attention to detail is an important life skill. It helps you do everything to perfection. This is something vital in the field of healthcare. As a nursing assistant, you cannot afford to neglect even minor details about your patient. The margin of human error is minimum in this field. A good nurse never puts it at stake by ignoring even a bit of information.
Nurses are responsible for people’s health and life. This requires the most concentration and attention. If you have this quality, you can expect to become successful in this career.
Leadership
You do not need a leadership title in your job description to exhibit your leadership qualities. A nurse plays a leadership role at several moments while on the job. For instance, when communicating with the patient’s family, dealing with a complicated situation, or facing an emergency. You must keep all your tools (skills) in your hand and use them when needed.
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Time Management
Time management is essential for any job. You have to take care of different patients at a hospital or nursing home. Each one of them might have a different healthcare requirement. It is not wise to neglect one for the other. You must manage your time efficiently for all of them.
You might have also learnt this in your CNA practice test. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most nursing assistants work full time. Your time management skill enables you to make your 8-12-hour shift the most productive and beneficial for the patients.
Reliability
A good nurse is one who is reliable. The one who is capable of showing consistent performance irrespective of the pressure. This quality is as important as all other qualities. The families of patients rely on healthcare providers to take care of their loved ones. The hectic nature of this job might make it difficult to always work to perfection.
In such a situation, teamwork can fill the gap. It enhances reliability and performance. A good CNA is a good team member also.
Bottom Line
A rewarding nursing career can be challenging also. It is a hectic job that requires highly passionate personnel to enter the field. If you have the above qualities and a passion for becoming a nurse, nothing can stop you. Build your abilities and chase your dreams. Your hard work never goes in vain.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
