10 critical skills for making the transition into nursing

The demand for qualified nurses is high, and an online accelerated BSN program is one of the fastest ways to get the necessary qualifications. Training to become a nurse doesn’t take very long, and if you have the right skills, it is a good career for anyone who wants to make a difference in people’s lives. 

However, it can also be challenging. To succeed, you need to have the right combination of hard and soft skills. You can gain hard (technical) skills during your degree course, but soft skills have more to do with character and personality. 

Whether you are looking at a BSN online accelerated program or would like to join a traditional nursing school with in-person classes, it is worth considering whether you are equipped for the job. 

As the demand for medical services has risen, so has the quality of patient services. Many employers have raised the bar for nursing. You need to do more than pass your exams to be successful; you’ll also have to impress not just patients, but colleagues and management.

In the past, a big part of becoming a nurse was having a good bedside manner and the right qualifications. As long as you knew what you were doing and were kind, you were likely to be thought of as a good nurse. However, the bar is higher now, and the current job market requires that nurses have certain soft skills. Here’s a look at 10 skills you should possess to make the transition into nursing.

Good communication

Today’s workplace requires good communication. Whether you are a general ward nurse, a geriatric nurse, an OB nurse or in the OR, you need to be calm and polite in an environment that is often frantic. Good communication with colleagues – including doctors, fellow nurses and specialists – is essential. 

Along with your nursing degree, you may want to consider a short communication course, especially if you struggle to express yourself.

Compassion

Compassion, or a good bedside manner, is probably one of the longest-standing requirements for nurses. You need to have a genuine desire to help others, as well as plenty of empathy. 

An online accelerated BSN program will emphasize compassion and teach you how to treat patients humanely, but it helps if you have a compassionate nature to begin with. The University of Indianapolis offers a program that is not just focused on the medical side of the job. They make sure to teach and train people in the best possible way to ensure high-quality patient care. 

If you are the type of person who has a hard time understanding others and feeling their pain, nursing may not be a good profession for you. 

Good decision-making

The nursing profession has undergone a major transformation in the last few decades. As training programs have become more intensive, the responsibilities of nurses have grown. Decisions that were routinely made by doctors and hospital administrators in the past are now left to nurses. 

You may learn clinical decision-making as a part of your BSN online accelerated program, but it helps if you can train yourself to make good and responsible decisions in everyday situations. 

Attention to detail

Nurses routinely administer drugs to patients, and getting a dosage wrong can have life-changing consequences. As a nurse, you will need to check batch numbers, serial numbers, expiration dates and other details in the course of your work. You should be able to spot the smallest anomalies when they occur. 

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is a little different from good decision-making. It is all about assessing a situation as quickly as possible to determine a course of action. It also involves understanding when to refer issues to better-qualified colleagues as needed. 

You may learn critical thinking in your nursing degree program, but you need to develop a personal ability to assess situations correctly and take the right decision when faced with a crisis. 

Confidence

You will not get very far as a nurse if you always second-guess your decisions, and you won’t be able to help your patients get better if you don’t speak to them with confidence about their recovery. A good nurse learns how to be polite yet confident with both patients and colleagues. 

Flexibility and adaptability

When you are first hired, you may be required to work in different areas.  You might start by shadowing a more experienced nurse in the general ward and then get reassigned to the maternity ward, the hospital nursery, or the emergency room. 

To be successful in all these areas, you must be flexible and adaptable not just to the environment, but also to the different people you will meet along the way. 

Physical stamina

One of the toughest things about nursing is the number of hours you spend on your feet. You may need to walk or stand for most of your shift, day after day. Having stamina allows you to work through tough days without getting tired. 

Mental stamina

A recent article in Best Health Ideas highlights how critical it has become for nurses to be vigilant about their mental health. Today’s nurses experience burnout, overworking, and even depression and anxiety. The career is more demanding than ever, and many new graduates are unequipped to tackle these challenges.

The American Nurses Association has published a series of articles on mental health for nurses. They highlight the urgent need to adopt a preventative rather than curative approach. As a new nurse, you should develop strategies that help you meet the daily demands of the job.

Teamwork and a pleasant disposition

Working within a team can be challenging, especially for new nursing graduates. When you get your first job, you’ll be surrounded by highly qualified and smart colleagues who expect nothing but the best from you. 

You must know how to work seamlessly with paramedics, doctors, consultants, pharmacists and the trauma team. Even janitors and other support staff will need your cooperation. How well you perform your job affects how well they can do theirs. 

Final thoughts

An online accelerated BSN program will give you the hard skills you need to be a nurse. However, you need additional skills to succeed and excel in your career. Although some of these skills may be taught in your degree course, there are many others that you have to develop within yourself. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have some of the soft skills required for the role. The fact that you are interested in nursing means you are inclined to help others, and that is a big advantage. You can work on improving yourself every day by seeking out situations that allow you to become a better nurse when you graduate. You can also volunteer in an elder care center or a hospice to develop your people skills.