Beyond the Stereotypes: The Real Qualities You Need as a Murse/Nurse
I am confident that your eyes have glanced by a top 5 or a top 10 or maybe even a top 20 qualities of a Super Effective Nurse before. As a Licensed Practical Murse (nurse) of 6+ years, these eyes have encountered a lot and these hands have brought healing to thousands. As an officer of the greatest branch of healthcare warriors, I know firsthand the requirements that it takes to be a truly effective murse or nurse. If you do not possess any of the following that will be mentioned, do not be discouraged, but perhaps you may want to reconsider entering a different branch within the medical field because only a few are truly called to this field. If you can find yourself in any of the following then, you may have a chance to make it through Bootcamp, because that is exactly what Nursing School is!
It is a very challenging but rewarding occupation, but there are a lot of unwritten or neglected obligations that nurses have. I would like to discuss a bit of the qualities, attributes, and skill sets that are truly essential for your nursing survival! I will be giving one skill set needed and one attribute needed.
Skill Set — Incorporate ADPIE Into Your Daily Routine
Pie is a delicacy enjoyed by many people around the world. There’s apple, sweet potato, cherry, and then there’s ADPIE. ADPIE is the only pie that we as murses and nurses should be eating. What are the ingredients of ADPIE you ask? ADPIE is not a literal pie that you eat but is an acronym for the nursing process; Assess, diagnose, plan, intervene, evaluate. The American Nurses Association best describes the Nursing Process as follows:
Assess — Nurses use a systematic, dynamic way to collect and analyze data about a client, the first step in delivering nursing care. Assessment includes examining a person’s entire being including and not limited to affect, orientation, social behaviors, diet, and other minor details that add depth to a person’s existence. Nurses should rank number 1 in the investigation in the details of what our clients say and do not say, how uncomfortable or uneasy they may be looking and feeling, and what is the current issue and possible long-term problems?
Diagnose — Nurses cannot make medical diagnoses and therefore we use our own uniquely crafted language known as Nursing Diagnoses. The nursing diagnosis is the nurse’s clinical judgment about the client’s response to actual or potential health conditions or needs. The diagnosis is the basis for the nurse’s plan of care.
Plan — “A goal without a plan, is just a wish” (Anonymous). Based on the assessment and diagnosis, the nurse sets measurable and achievable short- and long-range goals for this client.
Intervene — Nursing care is implemented according to the care plan, so continuity of care for the client during hospitalization and in preparation for discharge needs to be assured. Care is documented in the client’s record and the plan is to be followed through.
Evaluate — Both the client’s status and the effectiveness of the nursing care must be continuously evaluated, and the care plan modified as needed. This is the last step and most crucial step after the first four. Evaluation and re-evaluation should be an ongoing process. You must always analyze the plan put in motion and rate its effectiveness to determine if a reassessment or detailed assessment is necessary.
According to the American Nurses Association, the common thread uniting different types of nurses who work in varied areas is the nursing process — the essential core of practice for the nurse to deliver holistic, client-focused care. Yes, the Nursing Process is very helpful with ensuring the safety and purposefully taking care of our clients. But I would like for you to utilize this as a critical thinking tool and incorporate it into whatever subdivision of the health field you enter.
As an Outpatient Primary Clinic Mursing Supervisor, I am always ADPIE-ing. Always assessing how to make the unit more productive. Diagnosing and making clinical decisions in affairs that the team can improve or operate differently to be more productive and fruitful in our success. Planning involves ensuring that my providers’ schedules are “scrubbed”, and we understand what potential services and care our clients will be needing. Intervening by making sure that client safety and staff safety are at the forefront of my mind and always engaging in the demands of the day. Always evaluate yourself, your goals, your plans, and then readjust as needed.
Again, in whatever capacity of nursing you serve, keep ADPIE-ing and it will make the work “easier”. Maintaining structure is key to being organized and staying organized can be quite difficult when your hands are already overcrowded. ADPIE is crucial in-client care and tying it into the daily affairs and demands of your unit/ setting will take you far!
Attribute — “Have an impenetrable shield around your feelings and keep repairing the walls on that sh*t!” — Murse Dee
“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt!” As cliché and nice as that sounds, that is the biggest, cutest, confidence-building lie many of us grew up hearing. Words can cause you a host of mental illnesses, some of which are more harmful than physical damage being done to your body. You will need to develop callus-like skin; thick on the outside, and hard to scrape off without assistance.
While you are under the shield of your callus you need to become and remain the calmest, most patient person you can be. Have you ever encountered someone with such a calming and patient demeanor that you cannot help but find yourself trying to match the tone of the individual?
This is because calmness and patience are outward displays of love when coupled. A contagious magnet that if you can radiate calmness from within, you will become a source of energy for your clients and your team. They will become dependent on you if you are consistently reliable and display a constant state of calmness.
By no means should this imply this is easy, and it certainly does not mean everything is copacetic. I give you this one truth: no matter how good you do, how hard you go, how helpful you are, and how much influence you have, haters will always be on the lurk! As a Murse / Nurse you must be prepared for the following:
Be prepared for scrutiny. Then you go harder.
Be prepared to cry. You just get back up again (Donnie McClurkin).
Be prepared to be molded. Then you can throw your sauce into the game.
Be prepared to be disappointed. And then lift your head.
Be prepared to fall a few times. You just get back up again.
Be prepared to offer your time. Then you will be begin to see the healing process ignite.
Be prepared to listen thrice as much as you speak. And then you ADPIE✖2️⃣.
Be prepared to be yelled at. And then offer your future services.
Be prepared to face adversity amongst your peers. And then you gain their trust and never lose it.
Be prepared to be talked about. And then lift your head and smile again.
Be prepared to make a ton of mistakes. Then teach those to not do the same.
Be prepared to admit you are wrong. You just get back up again.
Be prepared to be reprimanded. And then you will grow some more.
People will love to see you fall and crumble under pressure, it makes them feel good about themselves. People have doubted you becoming a nurse. You have doubted yourself at some point and you may be even doubting yourself now. Turn that doubt into drive and stay on the path you were destined to proceed on. What is for you, is for you, and if it’s truly meant for you, nothing can stand in your way!
Stay tuned for more Mursing (nursing) tips, attributes, and skill sets on my mini-series of the “Other, Other Qualities of a Murse/Nurse”
Until then….
Love A lot More -Murse Dee ✌🏾
