Communication & Collaboration Skills
Communication is a skill that is essential in the nursing profession. As nurses are required to talk amongst each other, supervisors, with various health care team members, and most importantly patients and their families. We welcome the patient once admitted. We ask their problems and concerns. Communication is a requirement through each of these processes; however, prior to beginning nursing school, communication was not a strength I obtained.
Before I was accepted into the nursing program, I did not ask many questions, I did not talk to people who I did not know, and was just kept to myself.
In my first semester of the nursing clinicals, I completed a nursing case study with a patient from a long-term care facility. During this interview, which was mostly a conversation, I was able to communicate and collaborate with the patient to reminisce on her past.
This allowed me engage the patient in conversation, I learned so much about the patient and her life story, and she even admitted that she enjoyed talking with me. This project made me understand that talking with a patient does not have to be perfect and silence is not always a bad thing. I look forward to seeing how my communication skills continue to grow.
Leadership Skills
To be a leader is to stand up for what you believe in no matter what others think, and to be an advocate for your patients, nurses, and facility. Leadership skills are an essential skill to possess for the nursing profession, and I have had the opportunity to take a leadership courses during the nursing program to help me advance these skills. Throughout my nursing career, I have learned about the various leadership styles, roles, and both effective and non effective ways to be a good leader.
