Personality, Empathy, and Social Skills Are More Important Than Qualifications - Essay Example

Personality, Empathy, and Social Skills are More Important Than Qualifications One of the most interesting aspects of the nursing and healthcare fields is the fact that the occupations available in the field are perhaps the only ones that require the employee to have an advanced degree of social understanding when it comes to the topic of personality, empathy, and social skills. I believe that the reason behind this is that those who work in the medical profession often find themselves faced with people from various economic, ethnic, and social backgrounds. As such, the medical professional needs to be able to adjust his or her patient care and patient needs in such a way that it shows the respect of the healthcare provider for the personal, social, and political beliefs of the patient. By doing so, the healthcare provider will be able to administer the proper healthcare services to the patient and also earn the patients trust and loyalty due to the respect that has been shown for his or her beliefs in life. It is important to remember that a nurse must first and foremost, be conscious of the people around her and the patient. Being on the front line of patient care, a nurse will often find himself or herself spending more time speaking to the patient and his family members than the primary care physician ever will. As such, the nurse is in a unique position to facilitate the speedy recovery of the patient and also help ease the anxiety of the family. Oftentimes, the family members and patients will be anxious, afraid, embarrassed or distressed about their health situation, so they need a professional who can show them the respect, sensitivity,and empathy that they require throughout the time of the patient in the hospital. By doing so, the nurse will be able to help ease the psychological stress that everyone in the family is undergoing. Basically, being a nurse is a social job. It requires the nurse to be able to communicate effectively with family members. Putting them at ease whenever necessary and ensuring that she or he can help bridge the communication gap that often transpires between the patient, family members, and the doctor in charge. Sometimes, it is a thankless job, but the reward for the nurse comes at the end when the patient gets better and finally goes home to his family. Keep in mind that modern day nurses now hold a position of importance in the patient care community that rivals that of the doctors. The evolution of the job description has changed so much since the time of Florence Nightingale that nurses today no longer just sit by the sidelines, awaiting instructions for patient care from the more competent and regarded doctor. These days, nurses and doctors work hand in hand, they are partners in patient care with the nurse sharing in the responsibility of primary patient care. While doctors run around doing their rounds and creating treatment plans for their patients, nurses observe the patients throughout their shift and make notes and suggestions in patient charts for the doctors to refer to with regards to their patient treatment plans. These noted observations are acquired by the nurse on duty using their skills of empathy and social skills. By allowing the patients and their family members to openly discuss their treatment concerns or patient observations with the nurse, a communication line opens up for both the physicians, family members, and patients which leads towards a more holistic and family involved approach to patient treatment and care. One of the most important skills that a nurse must display in the dispensation of her duties is her ability to listen to the patient and their family members. She or he needs to be able to adequately and professionally answer any questions or concerns they might have in the form of offering simple treatment options that do not infringe on the doctors instructions, or give advice on healthy living. Such nursing skills provide the necessary teamwork between the professionals and the family members when it comes to the adequate care of the patient and the servicing of his patient needs. As of the year 2007, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the National League for Nursing have identified caring as a foundational value for nursing (qtd. in Rhodes, Morris, & Lazenby). This is a move that was set into motion by the professional industry in order to raise the standard of nursing care from “caring person” to an “identity of caring” as this train of thought provides a new image for a nurse. As a person who has a positive and strong impact upon the conscious caring of an individual who is struggling with illness, uncertainty, and anxiety. Hence the need for a nurse to be more than just caring, but also nurturing, and caring in a setting that requires interactive support and caring connections with the patients. However, this type of care can only be achieved by a nurse who is both competent in her knowledge of patient care and has the experience to know how to handle various patient care situations. Do not be mistaken. Just because a modern day nurse would rather evoke the emotions of warmth and care as opposed to merely being a doctors foot soldier, that does not mean that the nurse of the 21st century no longer holds himself or herself to a high degree of professionalism. On the contrary, the more personal touch that has been added to patient nursing care in our present day has helped to further boost and expand the degree of professionalism in the nursing industry. These days, a nurse who does not display any personal interest in a patient is not considered to be an effective assistant to the primary care physicians. Nurses need to be able to do their jobs properly. Most of the effective work that nurses do comes from having the cooperation of the patient and his family members. These days that is done by winning over the family and the patient so that the nurse can gain their confidence and trust when it comes to the nurse performing her duty bound tasks. Due to the involvement of a personal nature within the the requirements of the job, there are some who feel that professionalism is being sacrificed in the name of patient care. The seemingly personal relationship of the patient with his nurse is taken as a point against the professionalism of the nurse. Those who oppose the evolving nature of nursing fail to realize one of the emerging truths in 21st century nursing. Professional behaviors are seen to be the expression of professional attitudes - and significant work in medical professionalism literature in recent years has stressed the importance of assessing observable behaviors rather than attitudes with attention to the contextual framing of those behaviors (qtd. in Morrow, Burford, Rothwell, et.al.). Professionalism in nursing is more than just about the kind of practical skill that the nurse has to offer the patient. Although the professional skill is a definite plus in terms of dealing with the patient, patients do not like to be handled. Instead, they prefer to be made a part of their treatment plan. Nurses who rely mostly on their skills when treating patients will tend to find it difficult to gain the patients cooperation because there is no personal touch to the treatment. Once the patient feels that the nurse is merely doing what is expected of him or her on the job, the treatment plan will have a tendency to fail. But once a patient senses a personal interest in the part of the nurse in the care of the patient, it becomes pleasing for the patient to assist the nurse in his or her treatment. Medical treatment in the country is changing as fast as the technology that accompanies patient care. Hospitals are now set up in urban and country settings with specific patient treatment considerations in mind. That said, it falls upon the nurse to also be able successfully adapt to the patient care settings that he or she might him or herself in. In a city or urban based hospital setting, a nurse will find that the work entails working with their colleagues on a more daily basis. As such, their patient interaction could be limited but still require a personal touch whenever patient consultation is required. On the other hand, community based nurses tend to work on a far more independent basis than their counterparts. Thus finding themselves more in a position to deliver more targeted and patient centered care in their hospital setting. As I previously mentioned, nurses are at the forefront of patient care. These gallant men and women are in a unique position to reform the way patient care is administered because their job requires them to have hands on experience with their patients. By having nurses who are well equipped in terms of personality, empathy, and social skills, the medical industry will have a whole field of professionals who can be innovators in the field of patient care. This is because nurses have the unique opportunity to observe the patients and their specific needs in a medical setting. Nurses can help improve patient care by suggesting methods by which to expand patient access to care that has improved quality but lower costs. Nursing education has come a long way from simply preparing nurses to assist doctors with their daily tasks. These days, nurses have become highly trained professionals who, as licensed practical nurses, are allowed to provide more advanced patient care than they ordinarily would. These more advanced nurses are capable of providing the best of personalized treatment along with rudimentary health care, thus further proving that although skills are required in the performance on their tasks, the confidence and rapport that a nurse has with the patient is the more important and integral factor to consider in the relationship of a nurse and patient. Nurses today are already well adept at the basic competencies of their jobs. Their skills are highly honed and polished long before they leave nursing school and take their board exams. However, producing skilled nurses does not mean that caring and patient-centric nurse will also be produced in the process. With a rapidly aging society and the emergence of diversity in our culture, the emphasis on the personality development of the nurses have become an essential part of their training and education. Nurses these days must be able to display the capacity to deliver quality and safety in nursing care along with their ability to be leaders in their field. Only the nursing profession allows a healthcare professional to pay close attention to the diverse backgrounds and cultural values of their patients. This means that nurses have the ability to use their patient information to help the doctors create culturally sensitive treatment plans. The reason that nurses are able to do this is because they have the time to spend with the patients and get to know them. Ever since the time of Florence Nightingale, the primary purpose of the nurse is to be there to help ease the pain and suffering of the patient as he awaits medical treatment from a physician. Nurses manage to do their jobs because they are able to tap into the social, emotional, and psychological being of the patient as they administer the doctor prescribed treatment. By actually making a personal connection with the patient, the nurse is able to create a bond between the two of them that allows them to trust each other in terms of the administering of treatment. Empathy for a suffering patient is most important because suffering patients often feel alone, abandoned, and hopeless. The emotional support provided by the nurses during these times serves to boost the morale of the patient and makes them feel loved and cared for even if only for a few moments during each day. Nursing is a calling that asks the nurse to provide a holistic approach to healing the patient. This means that the nurse must concentrate on the total well0being of the patient rather than just the technical aspects of the job. After all, anybody can be a competently skilled nurse. But not every nurse has the ability to be a patient centered nurse. Patient centered nursing asks the nurse to give up a portion of her self for the benefit of the patient. Instead of merely administering the instructions of the doctor as stated in the chart, a patient centric nurse will know to combine the treatment plan with an empathy centered program that allows the nurse to deliver a sense of personalized care to the patient. While nursing schools continue to center their course syllabus on the technical aspects of nursing, the future nurses of this country are being shortchanged because the demands of their job have already evolved beyond that of a regularly trained nurse. Competency skills aside, a nurse who cannot place the patients needs above the instructions of the doctor will find an unwilling to cooperate patient who can make the healing process quite difficult for everyone concerned. While nobody will discount the fact that nursing skills are still of the utmost importance in nursing care, the reality of the situation is that nursing has evolved far beyond just the basic Florence Nightingale scenario. These days, nurses are called upon to do more than just administer medicines and bandage wounds. Nurses these days work in the era of inter-professional collaboration. This means that teamwork and collaboration with both the patient and family members of the patient are now considered to be critical components of high quality medical care. That is why in the end, it is important for the process of nursing to now begin with the nurses understanding their roles and responsibility in the field of nursing. When they begin to understand and accept that their patient centered personality, ability to empathize with patients, and honed social skills are all an important part of the patient treatment process, our patient treatment programs will finally be at its most effective. References Hassmiller S. (2010). Nursings Role in Healthcare Reform. American Nursing Today. Vol. 5 No. 9. Morrow, B. and Burford, B., et.al. (n.d.). Professionalism in Healthcare Professionals. hpc-uk.org. (Available on-line). Nursing Careers (n.d.). What Qualifications Will I Need?. nhs.uk. (Available on-line) Nursing Careers (n.d.). What Skills Will I Need?. nhs.uk. (Available on-line) Rhodes, M., Morris, A., et.al. (2011). Nursing at Its Best: Competent and Caring. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 16. No.2. American Nurses Association. Read More