Skills Required to Become a Nurse

Nursing is a highly skilled profession.  Below is a summary of abilities, expertise in areas of knowledge and skills required Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners:

Soft Skills for Nurses

These skills are either natural or can be acquired by some coaching.

• Communication - Nurses shall be able to communicate effectively with doctors, health care technicians, patients and their families.
• Listening Skills - Nurses shall have excellent listening skills so that they can clearly understand doctors, patients and their families.
• Service Oriented - Nurses shall have great social skills.  There will be times when they will need to provide encouragement to patients and their families.  At other times, they will have to face families who are upset about their loss and are holding the hospital or the staff responsible for it.  Nurses shall be socially skilled to handle such incidents.
• Reading Skills - While nurses are not english majors, they are required to have good reading skills.  Good reading skills enable them to read medical reports, understand prescription drug administration and other medical documents. Nursing students shall have these skills acquired before they enter a nursing program.
• Decision Making Skills - Nurses shall be able to make good decsions and weigh various pros and cons of any decsions they make. Nurses by nature shall be critical thinkers.

Hard Skills for Nurses

These skills can be acquired by attending a Nursing school:

• Diseases and Treatments - In a nursing school, nurses can learn how to diagnose and treat injuries, diseases, and deformities. They can learn how to evaluate symptoms, what treatment alternatives are available, what are the drug properties and its side effects, and what preventive health care measures shall be taken by a patient.
• Biology, Chemistry and Physiology - Nurses are required study biology, chemistry, and human physiology.  They are also required to attend several labs to get the practical training.
• Ethics - Nurses are rquired to learn the ethics of nursing profession and health care industry.  There is a strong emphasis on ethics to preven malpractice.
• Service Standards - Nurses are required to learn the quality service standards, alternative delivery systems, and customer satisfaction evaluation techniques.
• Business Skills - Nurses pursuing a career in nursing managment are required to gain skills in nursing management, finance, marketing and administration.