Pursuing a career in nursing can be extremely rewarding. The majority of nursing roles involve working directly with patients, so understanding the qualities that make a good nurse will help ensure you’re doing the best you can for your patients and working better with your team.
For example, USAHS prepares Nurse Practitioners to demonstrate a wide range of clinical skills, from performing office procedures and OB exams to managing psychiatric assessments and medications, showcasing both autonomy and leadership within the healthcare team. Our graduate nursing programs are designed to equip you for roles in leadership and public health, enhancing the foundational qualities and skills of a good nurse.
Nursing qualities and skills:
- Empathy
- Respect for Human Dignity
- Patient Advocacy
- Emotional Regulation
- Critical Thinking
- Curiosity
- Communication
- Problem-Solving
- Flexibility
- Time Management
- Experience
- Willingness to Keep Learning
What Makes a Good Nurse?
The field of nursing is growing, and it has been for years. According to recent data, there were more than 3.9 million nurses in the U.S. in 2021. This is a 13.6% increase from 2012.1 With the nursing field seeing such growth, aspiring nurses should know what it takes to make a good nurse.
The American Nurses Association’s nursing code of ethics serves as a compass for many nurse qualities that are required. It is one of the best guidelines for ensuring that your nursing responsibilities are consistent with quality care and ethical obligations of the profession and that as you carry out your work, you provide a welcoming space for patients to feel safe and cared for. The following 12 qualities and skills are what USAHS has identified as important traits that good nurses should aspire to possess.
1. Empathy
Empathy is one of the most important traits of a good nurse. Empathy means showing compassion and understanding to others. It is such a vital skill for working with patients. And it doesn’t stop there. Nursing jobs often involve working with teams that can include fellow nurses, doctors and other medical staff. Practicing empathy can help you work better as a team and understand where others on your team are coming from.
A common misconception is that empathy and sympathy are the same. Empathy is about caring about what someone else is going through, whereas sympathy is more of a feeling of pity for another person.2 Empathy involves putting yourself in another person’s shoes, and this can help you better meet their needs. When caring for others, it’s also important to be mindful of compassion fatigue.
2. Respect for Human Dignity
In addition to empathy, respect for human dignity goes a long way in the nursing field. And it’s part of the first provision of the ANA’s nursing code of ethics, which states that all people have a right to healthcare, regardless of individual differences.3
People can feel especially vulnerable while sick or injured. As a nurse, it’s important that you help your patients feel as much dignity as possible while they’re being cared for. Empathy will help you in this process as you learn to understand each individual patient’s needs and how you can respect them.
3. Patient Advocacy
Patient advocacy is one of the core qualities of a good nurse. Advocating for patients means speaking up when you know something is wrong and protecting patients’ rights to privacy and confidentiality. In addition to being ethical, protecting patient privacy can help you be HIPAA compliant, which is part of healthcare policy.
Being a good advocate for your patients can help in situations when patients are too nervous or may find it difficult to “speak up” when they’re in a healthcare facility. Of course, racial, gender and other biases exist, and patient advocacy can also help reduce inequity in healthcare.4
4. Emotional Regulation
As mentioned, empathy and patient advocacy are qualities of a good nurse, but demonstrating those qualities can also cause stress. As a nurse, it’s important to be able to regulate your emotions and manage stress while on the job. Emotions can create biases that lead to poor decision-making, but they can also be a fuel for good decisions when managed well.5
Being skilled at managing your emotions may not happen overnight, but there are various ways to work on your emotional regulation capabilities. One way to begin managing your emotions is by practicing mindfulness, a proven tool for emotional regulation.6
5. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills go hand-in-hand with problem-solving, along with some added nuance and perspective. Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman describes two modes of thinking: “System 1” and “System 2.”7 System 1 thinking is fast and intuitive, while System 2 thinking requires more effort and happens when we slow down and think critically.
As a nurse, you may run into situations where your intuition tells you one course of action is correct, but when you slow down and use System 2 thinking, or critical thinking, you find a better solution.
6. Curiosity
Provision 7 in the ANA code of ethics examines how nurses can advance their professional skills through research and scholarly inquiry.2 One of the best ways to do this is to develop a sense of curiosity—a sure sign of intellectual humility. When you’re able to be curious, you’re open to learning and remaining open-minded when working with patients and solving problems.
This sense of curiosity and motivation to advance one’s skills, might lead you to pursue a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), which can help
further your career.
7. Communication
Good communication is essential and necessary when working with patients. Explaining what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how it will help them will help your patient feel more comfortable with the care you’re providing them.
Communication is also crucial when working with colleagues as part of a caregiving team. A recent study showed that each year, 7,000 to 9,000 deaths in the United States are the result of medication errors.8 One of the most common system failures this study listed was poor professional communication. As an effective communicator, you can help reduce errors and keep patients safe.
8. Problem-Solving
In healthcare, as in life, situations may not always go as planned. Nurses need to be able to solve problems as they delegate tasks. Furthering your nursing education and undergoing on-the-job training will help you gain additional problem-solving skills to put you in a good position to resolve challenges as they arise.
9. Flexibility
Nurses have to be ready to be flexible in so many situations. You may need to work longer hours some days or switch tasks on a dime. By accepting that things can change, you become more flexible, which is a great nursing quality. Your flexibility can help patients as well as other members of your team when they need help the most.
10. Time Management
Nurses have a wide range of tasks and are often caring for multiple patients while balancing all kinds of other duties. Despite working long shifts, it still may feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. Developing time management skills can be helpful in so many ways, especially for learning to prioritize the most important tasks.
It stands to reason that when you can manage your time well, you’ll provide better care for patients and their families and have a better shot at completing your other duties. Good time management will have a ripple-down effect on everything you do!
11. Experience
Experience counts for everything, but obviously, gaining it takes time. As a nurse, you’re constantly dealing with a wide range of situations, helping you gain the experience and skills you need to be better.
For newer nurses, this is also where the quality of curiosity can help. Knowing that you currently lack some experience keeps you open to learning, and your willingness to learn will help you gain more experience. You may be working alongside nurses who have many more years on the job, and you can learn from their experience to help you become a better nurse.
12. Willingness to Keep Learning
Changes in the healthcare system are inevitable, and it’s important to maintain a willingness to learn. Medical science advances all the time, and you may see all kinds of changes within your healthcare setting. These can include systems you use, tasks you undertake and other responsibilities. A willingness to learn helps you stay flexible and able to advance and stay agile in an ever-changing field.
Your willingness to learn might drive you to pursue a postgraduate nursing certificate or enter a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Achieving a higher level of education can help improve your leadership skills as you continue to become the best nurse you can be.
How Nursing School Can Help You Gain Nursing Qualities and Skills
If you’re looking to learn the qualities and skills of a good and effective nurse, the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) can help you on your journey. We offer a variety of post-graduate programs in our School of Nursing to help advance your skills and qualifications. Check out our financial aid and scholarships as well. Take the next step in gaining the skills required to be a better nurse and apply today!
Sources
- USA Facts, “Who Are the Nation’s Nurses?”USA Facts, last modified May 2021,https://usafacts.org/articles/who-are-the-nations-nurses/
- Psychiatric Medical Care Communications Team, “The Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy,” Psychiatric Medical Care, https://www.psychmc.com/blogs/empathy-vs-sympathy
- American Nurses Association, “View the Code of Ethics for Nurses,” American Nurses Association, https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/
- Brandon M. Togioka, Derick Duvivier, and Emily Young, “Diversity and Discrimination in Healthcare,” National Library of Medicine, last modified August 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568721/
- Moshe Ratson MBA, MFT, “The Power of Emotions in Decision Making,”
Psychology Today, last modified August 2023, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-wisdom-of-anger/202308/the-power-of-emotions-in-decision-making - Raquel de la Fuente-Anuncibay, Ángela González-Barbadillo, Delfín Ortega-Sánchez, Nuria Ordóñez-Camblor, and Juan Pablo Pizarro-Ruiz, “Anger Rumination and Mindfulness: Mediating Effects on Forgiveness,” National Library of Medicine, last modified March 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7967311/
- The Decision Lab, “System 1 and System 2 Thinking,” The Decision Lab, https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/philosophy/system-1-and-system-2-thinking
- Rayhan A. Tariq, Rishik Vashisht, Ankur Sinha, and Yevgeniya Scherbak, “Medication Dispensing Errors and Prevention,” National Library of Medicine, last modified May 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519065/
