Challenges of a Nurse: What it Takes to be One

The challenges of a nurse go beyond the limits of their jobs. When you think about a nurse, you immediately think of starched caps and white uniforms – it displays compassion and care. But being a nurse is more than just the uniform or the virtues. It’s more than just bedside nursing.

What Makes a Nurse?

I believe that being a nurse is a calling. You can’t just decide to be a nurse if you don’t have a “caring” nature. Anyone who says they want to be a nurse just because it pays well tells you a lot about the kind of nurse they will be in the future! [1]So, what kind of qualities should you have if you want to be one? 

1. A Caring Nature

A caring nature is one of the natural qualities a nurse should have. While anyone can be a nurse, this isn’t always an assumed quality. On the other hand, the quality of care given to patients makes a lot of difference when you have a caring nature. A nurse who makes a sound judgment and makes their patients feel that they genuinely care about them can improve their career as nurses in the long run. That said, being caring is a critical element of your role as a nurse. 

2. Excellent communication skills

Communication skills are essential when you are a nurse. You must have the ability to communicate with your coworkers, physicians, and patients so you can deliver quality care. Without communication skills or grasping what nurses only understand, it’s easy to create medical errors and make patients feel nurses neglect them. So, as a nurse, you must have the ability to communicate well. It could also help your career as one. 

3. Problem-Solving Abilities

One of the challenges of a nurse is to solve a problem using their critical thinking skills. On-the-job training is the best way to help shape these abilities, and the years of experience also help hone these skills. However, some nurses have these qualities naturally. So why is it essential in your career as one? Problem-solving skills can significantly impact the quality of care given, no matter how small it seems. It can also cause adverse outcomes if done incorrectly. 

4. Critical Thinking Skills

While problem-solving skills help you solve problems at hand, you must also have critical thinking skills as a nurse. The ability to think critically in stressful situations can help save lives. A nurse who can apply clinical practices while using necessary thinking skills is dependable. It’s these types of nurses who can become leaders in the future.

5. Impeccable attention to details

As a nurse, it is your job to pay attention to more information to provide the best care to your patients. Keep in mind that you are responsible not only for giving quality care but also for their lives. A simple mistake on your charting or an overlooked doctor’s order can change the whole course of your patient’s life. It is why attention to detail is a nursing quality you should have. 

6. Stamina 

Nurses work long hours, and most of the time, this requires them to be on their feet. Not only that, but you also have to lift patients and provide them assistance. Having enough stamina to withstand extended working hours is crucial in your success as a nurse. 

7. A good sense of humor

Caring for patients is a serious business, but you don’t have to be serious all the time. Having a sense of humor can help lift the spirits of patients, your stressed coworkers, and people in general. Working as a nurse is stressful, so getting a few laughs now and then can lighten a tight situation. A good sense of humor is not only an excellent quality to have, but it also reminds others that nurses are people too. 

8. True Leadership

The last but not the least of nursing qualities you must have is authentic leadership. While many nurses go to this profession with caring for patients in mind, some become future leaders in their work. Exercising your leadership skills in any role or level of the organization shows that you are willing to learn, adapt, and grow at your own pace as a nurse. 

The Challenges of a Nurse and Its Essence

When I went to nursing school, my goal was to get my license to become a full-time nurse. Of course, I was young when I entered nursing school, so the reality of becoming one didn’t sink in until later on. But as days turned to months and months to years, and I was doing my OJT, I realized that being a nurse is more than just the license or the letters that go after your name. 

Beating the Challenges of a Nurse

To be a nurse means a commitment to the profession. It means you must embrace everything that comes with this profession. It could be the people you work with, your patients, their families, and even the possibility of losing patients in the process.[2]

Being a nurse requires heart. It’s one of those challenges of a nurse that takes bravery. You will be dealing with stress and anxiety while providing care to others – to me, that takes courage, and nurses have the biggest hearts to be able to do all of these. 

To be a nurse, you must have compassion; you must know how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. You can learn all the tricks and tips from the nursing book, learn how to save a life, learn how to deliver it, but if you don’t have compassion – are you even a nurse?