Nurses need to undergo rigorous training and education to help them develop nursing skills that would help them fulfill their crucial functions. These skills enable them to provide exemplary and compassionate patient care efficiently. Many of the soft skills nurses need to have are also highly valued business and leadership social skills, including communication and active listening skills, to name a few.
We list several essential business soft skills that nurses need to have so that they can provide better patient care and work with colleagues seamlessly, whether they’re new to the industry or are climbing up the nursing leadership ladder.
Effective communication
Nurses need to have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, to effectively carry out patient treatment. To streamline processes and operations, they would need to be able to properly delegate tasks, update treatment plans and other patient health-related documents, and coordinate with fellow nurses, doctors, and other members of the healthcare team.
Active listening, which involves asking relevant questions and reading non-verbal cues and tone of voice, is also a very important part of effective communication. Nurses need to pay attention to patients, family members, and fellow healthcare professionals to ensure that all important information is taken into account. It’s a good idea to minimize distractions, including checking one’s phone for messages or multitasking, when speaking with patients and colleagues.
Empathy
Communication is not just about being factual and straightforward, especially when dealing with patients and family members. Nurses must communicate with compassion and empathy.
A 2021 qualitative study has shown how empathetic nurse-patient communication patterns are effective in quelling patients’ fears and concerns, and how factors such as being friendly, maintaining patients’ dignity, and providing a happy environment can reduce patients’ pain and stress.
Being empathetic has been shown to facilitate a better level of trust between patients and nurses. When trust is established, patients feel safe to express their thoughts, concerns, and problems to nurses, which would then promote faster therapeutic change.
Nurses need to understand, however, that to be able to care for others, they need to also care for themselves. When they start to experience symptoms of compassion fatigue, they need to actively do self-care techniques, such as meditating, exercising, or talking with friends and loved ones.
Time management and decision-making skills
Not only is time management important in the delivery of patient care, but it’s also important in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Proper time management requires strong decision-making skills, as it will allow nurses to identify and evaluate which tasks should be prioritized over others.
Nurses who have proper time management and decision-making skills are also keen on avoiding multitasking, which, in most cases, has been shown to do more harm than good. Studies have shown that multitasking between tasks, especially when tasks are complex in nature, makes people less efficient and more prone to errors. Needless to say, when it comes to treating patients, multitasking can have dangerous effects.
Mentoring
Training new nurses and interns is vital in supplying the nursing workforce with much-needed professionals. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be an average of 193,100 annual openings for nurses between 2022 and 2032. This is why nurses need to coach and mentor novice nurses who need guidance, support, and key pieces of advice from experienced nurses. The first few years of a nurse’s career can be incredibly stressful and challenging — in fact, about 17.5% of new nurses leave the profession within one year of starting their jobs.
