WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY
Developing Your Nursing Skills
Nursing Skills
The world of nursing is dynamic and rewarding. By providing essential support and critical expertise, nurses play a pivotal role in patient care, forming the backbone of the healthcare system.
There are many different types of nurses, ranging from certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to registered nurses (RNs). While their roles and responsibilities may vary, nurses all utilize a crucial set of hard and soft skills to deliver exceptional care to patients, identify risks, embrace challenges, and overcome adversity.
Continuous skill enhancement not only empowers nurses to embrace innovation and build relationships with colleagues and patients, but also to positively impact patients’ lives and the healthcare system as a whole.
This guide discusses different types of nursing skills, why they matter, and how you can learn and use them.
What Are Nursing Skills?
Nursing skills refer to nurses' abilities and competencies to provide safe, effective, and compassionate patient care.
These skills encompass the clinical, technical, interpersonal, and critical thinking abilities required to deliver quality healthcare services.
Why Are Nursing Skills Important?
Nursing skills are vital for nurses to succeed in their profession and provide the best patient care. Here are other reasons why nursing skills are essential:
- Patient care: Nurses are responsible for assessing, monitoring, and addressing the physical, emotional, and social needs of patients. Their skills enable them to administer medications, perform treatments, monitor vital signs, and provide comfort and support to patients.
- Health promotion and education: With their skills, nurses can educate patients and their families about healthy lifestyles, disease prevention, medication adherence, and self-care techniques. By empowering individuals with knowledge, nurses contribute to improving overall health outcomes.
- Patient safety and outcomes: Nurses contribute to patient safety and improve patient outcomes by ensuring accurate assessments, proper medication administration, infection control, and prompt interventions.
- Patient satisfaction: Skilled nurses anticipate and address patient needs, advocate for their rights, and deliver evidence-based holistic care.
- Quality care delivery: Effective communication and empathy contributes to higher levels of patient satisfaction.
- Professional growth and advancement: By staying abreast of emerging healthcare practices, technological advancements, and patient population changes, nurses equip themselves to advance their careers even beyond the healthcare sector and work in sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry, insurance, public health, etc.
What Are the Benefits of Having Nursing Skills?
Nursing skills are crucial for providing safe and competent care to patients. Having strong nurse skills is beneficial for both you and your patients in the following ways:
- Efficient healthcare delivery: As a skilled nurse, you can prioritize care, collaborate with healthcare teams, and manage resources effectively. This contributes to shorter hospital stays, reduced healthcare costs, and enhanced healthcare system efficiency.
- Patient advocacy: By displaying strong advocacy skills, you can ensure that patients’ needs are met, their voices are heard, and their preferences are respected within the healthcare system.
- More career opportunities: Acquiring a diverse range of nursing skills opens opportunities for your career advancement and specialization in critical care, pediatrics, or oncology.
- Adaptability: The healthcare industry is continuously evolving, with new technologies, treatments, and practices emerging. You'll be better equipped to adapt to these changes and embrace innovative approaches to patient care.
- Personal satisfaction: You'll find immense fulfillment by being able to positively impact patients' lives and provide compassionate care.
Examples of Nursing Skills in the Workplace
Medication Administration
You can verify medication orders, calculate dosages, understand medication interactions and side effects, and employ proper techniques for administering medicines orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, or through other routes. Accurate medication administration ensures patient safety and optimal therapeutic outcomes.
Patient Assessment
You can perform comprehensive patient assessments by systematically gathering data about the patient's health status, including physical, psychological, and social aspects. You can also use observation, palpation, auscultation, and interview skills to assess vital signs, pain levels, neurological status, and other relevant indicators. Effective patient assessment guides nursing interventions and helps identify changes in a patient's condition.
Care Planning and Implementation
By creating individualized plans that outline nursing interventions, goals, and expected outcomes, you’ll be able to provide direct patient care, perform procedures, collaborate with the healthcare team, educate patients and families, and document the care provided.
Patient Education
You can provide patients and their families with the right information on self-care techniques, how to take medications, and even lifestyle modifications. You can also provide patient advocacy by communicating patient needs with other healthcare professionals.
How Can I Use My Nursing Skills?
As a nurse, you will use nursing skills in various ways throughout your career. You will apply these skills in direct patient care, when collaborating with the healthcare team, and when assuming leadership and management roles. You can utilize your nursing skills to:
You can utilize your nursing skills to:
- Assess patients: As a nurse, you can perform various types of patient assessments to gather comprehensive information about the patient's health status, identify needs, and develop appropriate care plans. The assessment may include initial assessments like checking vital signs or comprehensive that involves thorough evaluation of the patient’s health. For instance, as a critical care nurse, you can work closely with doctors and specialists to assess patients who are critically ill.
- Plan and deliver care: As a nurse, you can plan and deliver care by assessing the patient's health, diagnosing problems, and developing an individualized care plan. You can implement interventions, continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the care provided, and make modifications as needed. Throughout this process, you can prioritize patient safety, provide emotional support, and collaborate with the healthcare team.
- Administer medication: As a nurse, you need to understand medication, dosages and basic care in order to appropriately administer to patients.
- Monitor vital signs: Monitoring vital signs (such as temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen rate) is one of the most important parts of nursing that you can learn in becoming a qualified nurse.
- Communicate with patients and their families: As a nurse case manager, you can develop, manage, and review the healthcare plans of patients. It’s vital to be able to communicate this information with patients and their families. You can also communicate with doctors, surgeons, medical insurance peoplerepresentatives, lawyers, and other professionals in different scenarios.
Provide education and advocate for patients' rights: As a community health worker, you can use nursing skills to improve the public health within communities by providing advocacy, informal counseling, and support to families and individuals.
Manage complex healthcare situations: As a nurse, you can work closely with other healthcare professionals, such as doctors, specialists, and therapists, to manage complex situations. These situations may involve handling patients and families, giving healthcare interventions, and even providing emotional support to patients who experience emotional distress.
You can also rely on your nursing skills to think critically, solve problems, and make informed decisions to ensure optimal patient outcomes. In addition to providing care to patients, nursing skills can also prepare you to take on management and leadership roles in the health care sector.
How Can I Learn Nursing Skills?
WGU offers nursing education through the its Leavitt School of Health. We provide high-quality nursing education that prepares students for successful careers in the healthcare industry.
In our nursing degree programs, you will learn to:
- Identify genetic diseases processes
- Identify compensatory terms for homeostasis
- Evaluate the ongoing effectiveness of nursing care
WGU's Leavitt School of Health provides an exceptional learning environment for aspiring nurses to prepare them for successful careers in healthcare. Our nursing programs are designed with input from industry experts to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge you need to thrive in your career. These degrees include:
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
- Bachelor of Science Health and Human Services
- Master of Science in Nursing Informatics (RN to MSN option)
There’s an array of other healthcare courses that you can take based on your interests and goals. The curriculum covers various subjects like anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, health assessment, nursing research, nursing ethics, and clinical skills.
The programs also provide preparation for licensure exams, such as the NCLEX-RN for registered nurses. The nursing curriculum is designed to align with the content and competencies required for successful licensure. You’ll receive support and resources to ensure you are well- prepared for the licensing examination.
At WGU, we prioritize the practical application of knowledge, providing personalized support to students, and maintaining adherence to industry standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can improve your communication skills by following these tips:
- Being an empathetic, calm, and patient listener to understand patients’ and families’ needs and concerns.
- Using simple language to convey information and checking to make sure that patients, families, and colleagues understand it easily.
- Engaging in communication-focused professional training (through workshops or WGU’s Leavitt School of Health, for example) to enhance your skills.
You can enhance your career opportunities in nursing by pursuing specialized certifications or advanced degrees in areas such as critical care, pediatrics, or geriatrics.
You may also consider pursuing leadership roles or advanced practice nursing positions through other programs, such as the M.S. Nursing-–Leadership and Management, or Post-Master's Certificate in Nursing-–Leadership and Management as well as other programs that are offered at WGU’s Leavitt School of Heath.
To stay current with advancements in healthcare practices and technologies, engage in lifelong learning by regularly seeking educational opportunities, such as workshops, webinars, or online courses.
You should also stay updated with evidence-based practice guidelines and research publications in your field.
