Qualities of a good nurse

What does a nurse do?

Thefirst and foremost duty of a nurse would be to carry out the ordersof the physician. Because the patient and his or her family are responsiblefor the doctor's choices, and the doctor is responsible for his or her actions taken during treatment, the nurse is there, bluntly put, tolend a helping hand along its course. This is exactly why a nurse who"knows better than the doctor" is a dangerous person tohave on-board.

What are the qualities of a good nurse?

Watchfulnessis amongst the most prominent qualities of a good nurse. This meansthat the patient ought to be under near-constant surveillance. This isbecause the patient may slip into delirium and fumble down thestairs, or, worse still, through a window, toss his or her clothesoff and die of a fatal chill in such a vulnerable state, etc. Theseare fairly simple situations that may be dealt with easily – if thepatient is guarded by the nurse.

The nurse's watchfulness ought to be further fine-tuned even during the sleeping hours. This means that, if he or she is a heavy sleeper, itmay prove a slight obstacle. There are ways of getting around it bylearning how to wake with a sound or a touch.

Anothergood habit is recording the doses of food and medicine throughout apatient's routine. This is good for two reasons. Firstly, because itis more reliable than memory. Secondly, because the records may beneeded by and could be left for the doctor to see.

Anurse is also always to cause as little noise as possible while inthe sickroom. This is to say that any business is to be taken care ofwith minimum commotion. This is not to be confused with "creepiness"which would involve sneaking around the room and whispering, becausethis only attracts the patient's attention in a negative way.

Also,a patient is not a hotel guest. This means that asking for preferredmeals and beverages is not an option. Those are to be orders of thedoctor in charge and not the patients.

Otherqualities of a good nurse would include: kindness, a good commonsense, carefulness, quietness, neatness, handiness and cheerfulness toname a few.

Agood thing to note is that speaking of the patient's symptoms to thedoctor in front of the patient is to be avoided. This is equally trueof the symptoms of the patient at hand as well as speaking of otherpatient's symptoms. It is because such a gesture would be nothing butcounter-productive.