Top 10 Qualities of a Great Nurse

I think being a great nurse is having a great personality. You have to be very nice to your patients this is so important. Then you really have to know what you are doing. Do not want a nurse that does not know what she is doing. food catering

As I said in a previous comment, many people fail to understand that being a nurse is a very tough job and it requires having a vocation for this field and being able to cope with a lot of stress during working hours. I just with that nurses would be paid a lot more because they deserve that.

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Unfortunately, many people nowadays go into Nursing for the Money and have no compassion, empathy or care. I gave report to a Nurse on night shift to receive a Ukranian ( spelled wrong?) only speaking patient. I proceeded to show her how to use the language line from our ascom cell phones each Nurse has and she said I don't need it. That she never uses them and she can gets by entire shifts. This man had Q4 hr Neuro checks as well!!! I was scared to leave him in her hands. Furthermore, this chic was a staff Nurse. I'm a
Traveler new to their floor. I was floored. Poor man. He was completely A+O. Other Nurses kept writing disoriented. Mmm wonder why?

LuuC makes a good point about not falling into the trap of seeing nursing as female. I've been nursing for over 30 years and the great thing about being a male in this profession is the acceptance I ve gotten from patients and their families. Twice In 30 years I've been asked to be off a case because I was a male - most patients sense when we meet that they're going to get my full attention, experience, and education at their bedside and more than one have said, "I think you're the best, I've trusted you completely." But often times standing up for the patient and being their advocate in a conservative, often archaic bureaucracy, you don't always have the reputation as the best or most trustworthy. In many cases hospitals aren't there to help build and foster great nurses - they want nurses who keep their mouth shut, do their job, and don't say or do anything controversial. That's why most places have had to resort to collective bargaining. An alternative I've found lacking in a number of ways. But still better than believing that the hospital is your "friend", there to support you, or to be there for you if a problem occurs. I've seen more top nurses forced out by hospitals who don't want anyone assuming power within the ranks, they want subservience. I've seen more unions kissing the ass of hospital administrators and management rather than support the nurse, that it is no longer a rare occurence. If the hospitals are, as they will tell you, concerned with optimal patient care, why do they hire as many foreign nurses, "new nurses" and nurses with minimal experience as they do? To save money - and to bargain with your healthcare safety, a hospital will hire inexperienced, foreign nurses rather than highly experienced nurses who've been at the forefront fighting for patients and their rights. We experienced, older nurses will cost them more and call a spade a spade and that isn't good to have us in the ranks. Think about it. That's why you have so many nurses leaving healthcare until a national financial crisis occurs forcing them back into practice. And males aren't as welcome as we were always told we would be - unless you're a girly man who craves the company of all women and their way of relating to their jobs, males will be left out. The "male perspective" is not wanted. Patients may love you, but your colleagues and management may not. Again, it's the confidence, the maturity that many men bring to nursing that patients really seem excited about - but don't think for a minute hospitals will be. AND just because you're a male and in the nursing profession does not mean you're any good either The most recent supervisor I had - a male I knew for a few years had many skeletons in his closet but he was new to management. When I left after eight months, the staff was fighting him and each other - there were 10percent American nurses, 90 foreign nurses and it couldn't have been a bigger boiling pot of infighting - and who pays the price for that? Yep, the patients and their families. Look around your hospital and see if any of this sounds familiar. It never hurts to do an ongoing evaluation of your colleagues, supervisor and the facility itself - just like they do to you.

Good nurses are the needs of each and every country, state. May almighty god bestow all the qualities mentioned in this article and make world a better, peaceful place to live in. Thank u so much........

Great article.

I think this is a great article. Compassion, kindness, intelligence,and flexibility are qualities that all nurses should have. A " know it all attitude" does not have a place in the medical profession. We all (esp nurses) have to stick together and help each other to learn and grow in knowledge and skills. Kindness can be contagious.

Thanks for the article. As someone who works with nurses on a daily basis, and assists them in their careers, this is a helpful article.