A nurse is only as strong as the team that supports her. Nursing is a team sport and great nurses work well together. They support each other, cover for one another and help every member of the team as needed. One nurse’s crisis is another nurse’s opportunity to step up and help out. A good nursing team is based on open communication, trust, mutual respect and the ability to give and receive constructive criticism, all with one common goal: the welfare of the patient.
Patients, family members, friends, other nurses, hospital staff, doctors… the list goes on. Nurses rub shoulders with everyone at the hospital — from the janitor to the Chief of Surgery. They fight for their patient’s rights, navigate the political waters of the hospital, deal with the demands of doctors and hold the hands of worried parents. Nursing is not a profession where you can hide behind the three walls of your cubicle. It’s a hands-on, dirty, in-your-face kinda job.
A nurse’s intuition is her bread and butter. A good nurse knows when to trust her instincts over the beeps and pings of a machine. And good doctors know to listen to a nurse’s intuition when something is wrong. Nurses are already great at working with people, and a lot of that has to do with being able to read others well and listening to their intuition. For example, nurses have to be able to distinguish between a patient seeking pain medication because they’re addicted and one who is genuinely in need of pain relief. Clever drug seekers know how to fool even the smartest of tests; sometimes, nothing works quite as well as good old-fashioned intuition.
Next: Dedication →
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