Top 10 nursing lessons you’ve learned from your mentors

Every single nurse experiences a learning curve, and that transition from nursing student to practicing nurse can be a doozy! That’s why you need someone who will be there with a pat on the back when you’re feeling rotten…and who can give it to you straight when you’re messing up.

A great mentor can be a huge asset for any nurse, so we asked our Facebook fans for the best nursing tip they’ve ever learned from their mentors. Read on for their inspiring and very smart answers, then share your own tips in the comments below!

Top 10 nursing lessons you’ve learned from your mentors

1. Always, ALWAYS treat your patient as you would want your family treated. Try not to judge—just be compassionate. Judgment is for God, care is for nurses.
—Trayce RN

2. Value your healthcare assistants. If you treat them well, they will go to the end of the world for you.
—Laura Ellison

3. If it wasn’t documented, it wasn’t done!
—Jill Nesta

4. Remember to LISTEN even when the patient isn’t talking. And like what you do. If you love it—you have found a passion like no other! Be observant and treat your peers with kindness and respect. Being a nurse isn’t a job; it’s a way of life—never forget why you go hungry for hours. Always go home with the knowledge that you did your best and GAVE all you had to give. We will all grow old and need a nurse someday; be the one that people never forget. 🙂
—Janann Phillips

5. Trust your gut, especially if the patient tells you that something isn’t okay…even if the monitors show otherwise.
—Vera Lynn Stricker-Heckrotte

6. Never miss the chance to hold your patient’s hand and sit and talk awhile.
—Victoria Lewit

7. Walk into every room with confidence, even if the president is the patient.
—Erin Lynn McDermott Jones

8. A sign at my first job: “The day you stop learning is the day you stop nursing.” Kept that saying in my mind ever since then.
—Roberto Reynaga Rodriguez

9. Stay an hour ahead of yourself because you never know what can happen!
—Cecily Cruz

10. Don’t think “I just have to get through this shift!” Think “What can I do in these 12 hours that will make a difference?!”
—Tori Jordan Houston

What’s the best advice your nursing mentor has ever given you?