What Skills Are Necessary For Success In Your Career?

Right now I am studying to become a registered nurse. I am going to take so much pride in the work that I do, but I know there are certain skills I must poses in order to be successful in my career. You if are not caring, dependable and a critical thinker then the nursing field may not be the right career choice for you. There are many skills you must possess, but these are a few of the skills I think are critical for success.

Why go into the nursing field if you are not a caring and compassionate person? You have to care about the people you are taking care of in this field. You can’t be successful in this field if you are cold hearted and nasty. I know if I were sick I would not want the person caring for me showing up with no compassion. It just makes the person that is sick stay a little bit better when they know the person that is caring for them cares about their well being and health and wants to see them get better.

Many people depend on you when you are a nurse. Some of the people that depend on you would be doctors, nurses, family members and most importantly the patient. If you can’t be counted on to be at work when you are needed, and do the job that is required of you when you get there it can be detrimental to everyone. Doctors depend on you as the nurse to be there to follow through with his orders. Your fellow nurses expect for you to be there to help with the patient load and also to relieve the nurse that you are expected to take over for. There is nothing worse than working a 12 hour shift and your relief person does not show up. People expect you to be at work no matter what. These patients still need to be cared for. Family members and patients depend on you to take care of their loved one, and help with their recovery process. Not being dependable can really mess with the dynamics when caring for someone.

You cannot be just a surface thinker in the nursing field. Thinking just at the surface level at times can cause harm and even death to a patient. Being a nurse requires some critical thinking skills. Sometimes a cold or a fever is not just a cold or a fever and you have to be able to recognize that. By not thinking outside the box you can potentially cause death to a patient. You don’t get a second chance in this field. If you choose to only see things at the surface level you can bring harm to your patient, and there is no correcting your mistake. No one wants that.

If the nursing field is something someone wants to pursue I would say ask yourself these questions first: Am I genuinely a caring person? Can I be depended upon no matter what? Am I ready to think outside the box? If you can answer yes to these questions, then this maybe a field you want to explore. If you answer no to just one you may want to look into another career choice.