What makes an effective way of communication? And what can you improve to be better at communicating? Here are five skills that you must learn.
Better Nursing Communication is a Must
Communication with friends, family, and coworkers is crucial for success. It gets your message across to others and allows you to understand what others need and want.
Without proper communication, personal progression is impossible. It’s just as necessary for the speaker to get the message across as it is for the listener to understand.
1. Non-Verbal Communication
Communication begins with nonverbal cues. How often have you looked at someone and known they were open to a conversation, or even that time someone seemed that they didn’t want to be bothered. The nonverbal cues are the first things we notice.
Nonverbal communication is used throughout a conversation; think about:
Eye contact
Tone
Posture
Body language
Facial expression
2. Active Listening
Listen to understand, not just to respond. Really think about that because often, when someone is talking, we are already thinking of a way to respond. This leads to missing the whole picture or the other person not feeling understood.
It’s good to repeat a portion of what the person is saying to ensure that the intent is clear and that there are no misunderstandings.
Not everyone is coming to you for a solution sometimes. People just want to be heard and understood, not told what to do in response.
3. Inspire Trust
Keep your word. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, no matter how small. People tend to remember you for your best actions and for how you didn’t follow through with what you said.
Be honest; don’t say you can if you can’t do something.
An excellent way to build honest trust is to be open with your flaws. Share your mistakes and show your vulnerability. We are all human.
This is important when speaking with management. You might not see them every day, but it is essential not to sugarcoat things and really talk about how you feel about the unit environment.
4. Cultural awareness makes better nursing communication
People come from all walks of life, even your coworkers and managers. Don’t judge them on what they do. Don’t be ignorant, be open. Instead of judging, ask to learn about the things you don’t understand.
5. Verbal Communication
Verbal communication is the most important. It’s the primary way we get our message across.
Know what you are going to say and why. Is it going to be a serious conversation with a manager, or are you just catching up with a friend?
The most important thing to remember is to just talk to people. Talk to your coworkers and make them more than just a body to help you with turns. Share with them things about you and your stories, and ask them questions.
Do you want to learn how to communicate better as a nurse? Click on the full episode here 👇
TIME STAMPS:
00:00 Intro 01:12 Episode Introduction 02:43 I. Non-Verbal Communication 07:13 II. Active Listening 12:37 III. Inspire Trust 16:51 IV. Cultural Awareness 27:03 V. Verbal Communication 33:49 Wrapping up the episode
Life after you graduate nursing school seems a bit overwhelming, but with proper guidance and helpful tips, you can manage it too.
Where do you want to work? What are the key takeaways from nursing school? What do you need before you step into the unit? It can be tricky to find the right opportunity.
To ensure you are happy with your first decision, take your time and explore the market to learn about the types of opportunities that will be best for your career goals.
Understanding Different Opportunities
Finding a hospital to work in after you graduate from nursing school is often the main goal of many nursing graduates to start their careers.
Other career opportunities (non-bedside): Legal Nurse Consultant, Hospice Nurse, Public Health Nurse, Occupational Nurse, Dialysis Nurse, Nurse Educator
Research the facility you will be applying for to learn more about the role you’re applying for. Answer the following questions:
What are the facility’s mission, vision, and values?
Do you know what the facility’s designation is?
What population do they serve?
Do you know if they have been awarded or recognized?
Different Units – What Unit Do You Want to Work On?
How would you describe yourself?
Lead the team?
Do you love to collab?
Do you work best alone?
What does your ideal workday look like?
Consistent, likes to plan ahead?
Something new every day to keep you on your toes?
A mix of this and that?
Who is your ideal patient?
Elderly, acutely ill, new mom and infant, children?
When it comes to patients, the best way you can help is?
You can use this opportunity as a stepping stone to advance internally up the specialty ladder.
For example, starting in Med/Surg, then working up to PCCU, and then ICU. Other managers and supervisors can notice you and help you cross-train to their unit.
Utilizing your Network and Resources
Since you can’t rely on years of professional experience to land your new gig, using your network to get your foot in the door is your next best option.
After you graduate nursing school, many nursing schools also have a network to help with different employment available for you before deciding on your first job. While doing clinical rotations, you can also inquire about opportunities.
Build your support network early on, as they can offer advice, guidance, and job leads. You can start by getting all your classmates and professors’ email addresses.
Job fairs are another great way to look for opportunities. At a nursing job fair, you can meet with dozens of prospective employers in a single day instead of sending out stacks of resumes and waiting weeks for a response.
If you’re unfamiliar with which facilities are hiring, you can consider major job boards such as Indeed, Linkedin, and Hired.
Tips on using jobs board effectively:
Make sure your Linkedin profile and resume are congruent.
Adding new responsibilities and new volunteer opportunities you’ve taken
Be attentive to the language you’re using in your profile resume
Mirror the language of job listings that interest you in your profile and resume/
Don’t be afraid to reach out directly
Most job boards won’t list direct information to employers but that doesn’t mean you can’t reach out with a follow-up email about your application. The human connection can be the deciding factor.
Clean Up your Social Media Account
Have appropriate profile photos on all accounts.
Edit the biographies, headings, and descriptions to reflect a professional manner.
Run a Google search on your first and last name. Make sure all photos are appropriate.
Change your privacy settings to private if you do not want potential employers to view your social media profiles and photos.
Preparing for Your Interviews
The purpose of the interview is to determine if they like you and whether you’re a good fit for their team. Nursing is a team effort.
They also want to see if you’re as good as you seem on paper and can help them reach their goals as an organization.
Tip: Treat the interview like a conversation where both candidate and employer have a shared goal of getting to know each other.
You’ll be spending a lot of time at work, so make sure your core values align, and it’s an enjoyable work environment – not just tolerable.
Prescreen phone interview for nurses – Usually the first step of the hiring process. The goal is to reduce the number of candidates and invite the best-fitting candidates for the next step.
They’ll ask basic qualifying questions about:
Education
Employment status
Clinical experience
Goals
Tip: Know your availability, as the goal is to invite you for an in-person interview. Also, ask about the next steps, don’t get off the phone and wonder what’s next.
The Interview
This will be your first opportunity to meet the hiring manager or the unit. Ultimately, they are determining if they personally like you.
No one wants to work with a negative Nancy. This includes a number of things:
How they feel about you
How you’ll fit within their unit
Your level of enthusiasm
How your strengths can help them reach their goals
During this time, or maybe for the next interview, you will undergo a panel/peer interview which will include multiple people, usually from the unit, to help the hiring manager pick the best candidate.
We advise maintaining good eye contact with everyone, engaging in conversation with the entire group, sharing your personal stories, and smiling.
Before the interview, make sure you understand yourself.
Your strengths and weaknesses, the experiences you’ve had in clinical settings.
What is your 5-year goal?
Teamwork: Talk about a conflict within your healthcare team. What was the conflict, and how did you handle it?
Patient care: Tell me about a time when a patient’s family was dissatisfied with your care. How did you handle that situation?
Time management: Talk about a time you worked in a fast-paced setting. How do you prioritize tasks while maintaining excellent patient care?
Tip: Be a storyteller. Storytelling is powerful and memorable. Most importantly, it provides evidence to support the assertions made in your resume.
It gives the employer a glimpse at the type of nurse and human being you are.
What to Buy Before You Enter the Unit
Click pens
Penlight
Nursing scissors
Good scrubs
Right shoes
Stethoscope
Giving End of Shift Report
An end-of-shift report is a detailed report of your patients and their overall care and medical status.
nd-of-shift reports include medical history, recent procedures, lab values, medications, head-to-toe assessment, pain management, and plan of care.
Episode 115: Goes in-depth about the end of shift duties and gives a report
After you accept your position, remember that getting off orientation is not a race.
If you are hired with other new graduates, it is common to look at them and feel like you are competing in the race of who can be the best new grad nurse.
Who can take care of higher acuities quicker? Who will be let off orientation earlier? Your work culture can bolster this, especially if your manager starts making comments that make you feel like you’re behind.
Tip: You must focus on your journey and fill in the gaps you need. It’s not about winning a race.
Don’t forget about self-care days!
Treat yourself, take yourself out, get massages, and buy something nice.
Get those feel-good endorphins pumping. The Self-care culture is at an all-time high with talks about the pandemic and burnout.
Here are the things you need to know after nursing school. Click here for the full episode 👇👇👇
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction 0:57 Sponsor Ads 1:34 Cup of Nurses Introduction 3:51 Episode Introduction 6:39 Understanding different opportunities 11:35 What unit do you want to work on? 18:46 Utilizing your Network and Resources 23:29 Tips on using jobs board effectively 24:30 Clean up your own social media account 25:50 Preparing for your interviews 31:01 What to buy before you enter the unit 34:24 Giving end-of-shift report 37:01 Don’t forget about self-care days
To become a successful nurse in the real world, the qualities of a good nursing student must begin early. These qualities must be second nature to you as well as these can help determine your success in your career as a nurse. So what are these qualities? Read on for more.
Must-have Nursing Student Qualities
1. Must be Goal-Oriented
As a nursing student, you must have goals in mind and drive to meet those goals. Successful nursing students must set goals for themselves.
Your goals could be anything; it could be your desire to find a career in the nursing world that suits your skills or simply wanting to make a positive impact in the lives of your patients.
As a nursing student, you must understand that setting goals will determine how you reach them.
2. Must be Organized
During your time in nursing school, you will face all kinds of activities and things to do. Managing time is a must-have skill for nursing students.
Being able to manage time is a must-have skill for any nursing student. This way, burnout is avoided, and you have time to relax and study. Keeping a handy planner with you will help you organize the activities on your end and stay in tune with the load of schoolwork.
3. Must Have a Caring Nature
As a nursing student, you must be someone who is caring by nature. You did decide to become a nurse, so it is a given that you have a caring and empathetic personality.
Being compassionate and sensitive are two crucial requirements nursing students need when caring for people dealing with medical issues. You should know how to comfort others, especially when you are dealing with upset or scared patients.
This quality will also help you handle patients’ families and make it easier for you to lead a long-term career in the future.
4. Must be Emotionally Stable
Living the nursing student life is stressful. You will be facing challenges every day, not to mention the exams, hospital duties, and many others.
That said, nursing students must be able to handle their emotions when under extreme stress.
Keep in mind that you will also deal with patients who are coping with fatal conditions. Being emotionally stable can get you through all that [1].
5. Must be Able to Communicate Well
Your communication skills matter even if you are only a nursing student [2]. As a nurse, you will talk to many people, and communication is key to successful patient care.
Effective communication makes it possible to give proper care and help patients get back on their feet again.
6. Must be familiar with the Nursing Code of Ethics
As a nursing student, you must have a good understanding of the nursing code of ethics. You have to respect the dignity of the patient and must be honest at all times.
It is also your duty as a nurse to improve the conditions of the healthcare environment so all patients receive the best care possible. And so, while you are still in nursing school, it is crucial that you understand the nursing code of ethics for you to provide proper care for all of your patients in the future.
Owning this quality is just important as having the others.
To complete your nursing degree, you must possess the qualities of a good nursing student. Owning these characteristics will make nursing student life more manageable, help you choose the nursing specialty you like, and turn you into an excellent professional nurse in the future!
Looking for more student resources? Check out these helpful links!
Want to know what nurses find funny? Click here for the full episode 👇👇👇
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Cup of Nurses Introduction 1:53 Episode Introduction 2:24 Jessica’s Nursing Background 8:30 Day Flow of a Labor & Delivery Nurse 12:30 What are the difficulties in L&D? 17:56 What are the nurse personalities in L&D? 19:35 What part of L&D Struggles you the most? 47:54 Advise to Nursing Students 50:48 What made you leave the bedside? 55:43 What are your future goals? 1:04:00 Where to find Jessica Sites?
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