How to Make a Difference in Nursing

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Those in the nursing industry will always want to make a difference with their care both in terms of patient care and the healthcare profession as a whole. When you are able to make a difference in nursing, you will not only improve patient outcomes and their experience but also stand out from the crowd and potentially advance your career at the same time.

So, how can you make a difference and stand out in the nursing field? There are many effective ways to do this, making a big difference to your performance and allowing you to progress and develop your career. Keep reading to find out more.

 

Get a Masters in Nursing Education

If you really want to make a difference to nursing and healthcare, then a masters in nursing education is a smart move. A masters in nursing education will set you on the path to a rewarding career as a nurse educator, which will allow you to train and develop tomorrow’s nurses and have a big impact on healthcare as a whole. A masters in nursing education will prepare you for a career in education, and you will also find that a masters in nursing education can help you earn a larger salary than you would have expected otherwise. Finally, a masters in nursing education can also be completed online, so it can be easier to fit into your already hectic schedule.

 

Ask for Feedback

Asking for feedback is always one of the best ways to improve and show that you are dedicated to self-improvement, yet it is often an area that many shy away from. This is understandable because it can be difficult and confronting to ask for feedback, but ultimately, this will give you the best ideas for ways to improve and allow you to see how you have been performing. In addition, when you ask for feedback from superiors and colleagues, it also opens up a productive dialogue that everyone can benefit from.

 

Help Younger Nurses

You should also support and help your colleagues, especially any younger nurses that might need advice or support. A masters in nursing education will certainly allow you to do this and could help you to become a leader and someone that people go to when they need help within your place of work. Nursing is one of the toughest and most demanding jobs, so it is important that nurses look out for one another and provide support. For younger nurses, having someone educate and support them can be immensely helpful, and it also allows you to help them to avoid mistakes and improve their performance from the very start.

 

Inspire Others

Following on from this, you should also try to inspire others, particularly if you take a masters in nursing education and go down the educational route. You are teaching the healthcare providers of tomorrow, so you will want to inspire them as best you can so that they will work to be the best that they can be. You can do this by showing them the positive difference that they can have on patients, healthcare, and the world as a whole, through positive reinforcement, and by showing passion in your own work.

 

Go the Extra Mile for Patients and Their Loved Ones

One of the most effective ways to make a difference when it comes to nursing is to always be willing to go the extra mile for patients and their loved ones. It can be scary and daunting being in hospital, but a caring and attentive nurse can make all the difference and help people feel much calmer. Nurses need to provide both care and support, so always see what you can do to help the patient and their loved ones. While it is important to be willing to go the extra mile and show that you care, it is also important to not get too attached otherwise this can negatively impact your work.

 

Understand Every Patient is Different

One of the best things about being a nurse is that no two days are ever the same. Every patient is different, and even two with the same health condition or injury will be different. This also means that you need to treat every patient differently and adapt your approach when treating them. If they are young and feeling scared, for example, then you need to be someone that they can trust and try to bond with them.

 

Educate Your Patients

Leading on from this, it is also important that you are educating your patients. If you are simply patching them up and sending them on their way, it is likely that they will be back again before long, particularly if they require care because of a negative behavior or habit. This is why you should take the time to educate your patients and encourage them to practice good health and habits – this could prevent them from coming in again and could put less strain on the healthcare system.

 

Develop Your Soft Skills

There are many skills required to excel in nursing and make a difference, including soft skills. These are sometimes overlooked for technical skills and knowledge, but you will struggle to perform to a high standard without excellent soft skills and provide the best level of care. A few of the main soft skills that are required in order to excel in nursing include:

• Communication skills
• Presentational skills
• Teamwork
• Leadership skills
• Time management critical thinking

 

 

Keep Learning

A masters in nursing education is certainly an excellent qualification for those that really want to make a difference in nursing and healthcare, but there are lots of other ways to learn and improve too. Nursing and healthcare are constantly going through change, which means that you need to stay current and commit to learning to find continued success with your role. There are many different ways to keep learning and developing, including:

• Reading journals
• Reading blogs
• Listening to podcasts
• Joining online communities
• Attending industry events
• Qualifications
• Newsletters

 

Focus on Listening

Listening is a vastly underrated skill in nursing (and many other areas of life) and can make a huge difference to your performance as a nurse. As a nurse, you need to be able to gain a clear understanding of the situation, and this will require excellent listening skills. Those who are great listeners will always be able to provide the best level of care and develop positive relationships. In addition to listening, it is also helpful if you are a good reader of body language as often it is about what people are not saying. Often children find it difficult to communicate while in hospital and potentially in pain.

 

Maintain a Positive Attitude

It is understandable if you do not feel positive when you are a nurse. You have to work long hours, be on your feet all day, and you are dealing with all kinds of upsetting, difficult, and often traumatic cases all on one shift. It is easy to feel stressed, upset, anxious, angry, and various other negative emotions, but it is important to try and maintain a positive attitude. Those that radiate positivity will make everyone else feel more positive, including other healthcare workers, patients, and their loved ones. It is not always easy, but if you can walk into a room and make people feel better, then you will be making an enormous difference, and this will hopefully help you to feel genuinely more positive.

 

Be Sensitive

Following on from this point, you also need to be sensitive and to understand people’s emotions, and act accordingly. If you have to deliver bad news, for example, then you need to do so in an appropriate and sensitive manner. This means that you need to be able to read the room and change your behavior, and this is a skill that is often developed over time.

 

Seek Out New Opportunities

In order to make a difference in nursing and healthcare, you will want to climb the ladder and develop your career. Usually, you will have to be the person to seek out new opportunities, so you need to think about your career progression. Taking steps like a masters in nursing education is an example of seeking out a new opportunity, but you may also need to look to move to a different healthcare facility or even more to a new area in order to develop and progress your career.

 

Be Ambitious

Leading on from this, it is also healthy to be ambitious when it comes to healthcare, and if you really want to make a difference, then you should set out a career map to make it to the top. You can make a positive difference at every level in healthcare, but those that rise to the top can really make a big impact and bring about positive change. For many, this will involve teaching tomorrow’s nurses, and this can certainly be a rewarding and enjoyable way to make a difference in healthcare.

 

Learn from Your Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable in high-pressure and demanding professions like nursing, but you need to make sure that you are not making any serious mistakes with serious consequences. For the mistakes that you do make, it is important to try not to let these impact your confidence, as this can halt your progression and could even hold back your career. Instead, you need to realize that everyone makes mistakes, to try and learn as much as you can from the mistake, and then to move on. Try not to dwell on the mistakes that you make and instead see them as an opportunity to learn, improve and grow as a healthcare professional.

 

Develop a Strong Work Ethic

In order to excel in nursing, it is essential that you have a strong work ethic. As mentioned previously, nursing is one of the most demanding roles that there is, and it is very hard to succeed if you do not have a strong work ethic. When you have a strong work ethic, you will be able to perform to a high standard with every patient and on every shift, and this is how you make a positive difference to healthcare. Work ethic is something that some are born with, but if this is an area that you struggle with, there are ways to improve your work ethic. This includes setting yourself goals, finding what inspires you and making sure that you are looking after yourself, and using your time off to enjoy yourself.

 

Look After Yourself

Leading on from this, you must also make sure that you are looking after yourself. It is ironic that many nurses spend their time taking care of others but often neglect their own wellbeing, and this could end up impacting your performance as well as your overall wellbeing. You need to make self-care a priority, which will include relaxing and reducing stress during your time off, leading a healthy lifestyle, hobbies, and socializing. When you look after yourself, you will have more energy, enjoy your work and personal life and be able to perform to a high standard in the short and long term. This is something that many nurses struggle with, especially early on in their career, but over time you will learn tips and tricks to help you to look after yourself and make the most out of your time off.

Hopefully, this post will give you a few ideas for ways that you can really make a difference as a nurse. Nursing is one of the noblest professions that there is, and you will make a big difference simply by showing up to work, but there is the potential to do so much more in this field of healthcare, and this can make the work incredibly rewarding. It is not always easy, but when you can make a difference to your patients and healthcare as a whole, it is always worth the effort.

 

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