Nurses are undeniably the backbone of the healthcare sector. Without their help, there’s no denying that the healthcare sector may collapse entirely. That’s why, if you’re a nurse, your role is crucial in ensuring excellent patient-focused care. However, you can be an even more incredible asset to the patient body by polishing your skills and investing your energy into attaining higher education.
Advanced degrees give you an edge over your peers, allowing you to transform yourself into a highly skilled specialist. Hence, if you can accelerate your career growth by furthering your education, go for it. Here are some skills that you can hone through higher education:
Why Advancing Nursing Education Matters?
As a nurse, you play a critical role in the healthcare sector. Your role in connecting patients to the right doctor to get the correct treatment is integral to the patient-focused care framework. As a nurse, the more skills and knowledge you have, the more autonomy you get to practice in your profession and ensure positive patient outcomes.
If you start as an RN, you must climb your way to a nurse practitioner before you can treat patients independently. So, if you want a top-tier position on the nursing ladder, work your way to a bachelor’s degree and then start looking into acquiring a postgraduate degree.
If you’re eager to start, enroll in the BSN online program and allow the updated curriculum to reshape your nursing perspective. What’s best about the program is since it’s online, you can manage work, studies, and personal commitments easily.
What Skills Can Your Education Teach You?
Degrees follow structured coursework. You get exposed to skills, knowledge, and experience that can shape you into a seasoned nurse. Below are some skills and qualities you can sharpen from your degree:
1. Confidence
As a nurse, you need confidence in your ability to make a decision. A patient’s well-being depends on how reassured you are about your choices, so you can’t second guess yourself at any point. This type of confidence only comes when you have the information to back up your choices and decisions. When you’re not experienced or skilled enough, you may get flustered or fumble over your decisions, which can ultimately not bode well for the patient.
Therefore, don’t jeopardize their health, and ensure you’re making the right call by being confident in your decisions. If you feel unsure about yourself, it is okay to ask other doctors.
You can also supplement your understanding by reading more journals, research papers, and publications that can expand your expertise, boosting your self-esteem.
2. Empathy
You will deal with various patients in your career. Some may be dealing with severe life-threatening conditions that have completely altered their lifestyle and submerged them in depression. At times, it’s challenging to deal with; they may get angry with you often and not cooperate as readily as you like. But be patient. Understand where your patients are coming from and empathize with them.
When you’re well aware of the details of your patient’s illnesses, it can be easier to work with them and look after them. So, allow the knowledge to wash over you and use it to treat your patients to the best of your abilities. You never know who may need a helping hand or your comforting presence.
3. Critical Thinking
Diagnosing a patient is not a linear process. You have to gauge many factors before deducing what a patient has. A cough alone cannot tell you what disease the patient may be going through, so you may need to order tests, carry out exams, and request biopsies before you can conclude what the patient may have. Certain diseases also have similar symptoms, so you may need to think hard and find a distinct pattern to determine the patient’s illness.
Critical thinking is only possible when you have a more enhanced understanding of your clinical and theory. That’s made possible when you pursue an advanced degree that allows you to explore diseases from a much more detailed perspective. Unless the case is urgent, you have ample time to determine what the patient is undergoing. While it’s good to be fast on your feet, sometimes you must deliberate more on a case.
4. Advocacy
Your patients need a voice, and you can be this voice for them. The healthcare sector works endlessly to provide patients with comfort and the most optimum treatment. But at times, they may overlook patient care, such as not hiring enough bilingual nurses, not printing enough pamphlets for patients to take home, or not offering telehealth services.
On a superficial level, it may not seem much, but it can be a massive hurdle in offering optimal patient care. That’s where you come in. Your degree gives you the confidence to represent your patients.
You’re in a much better position to recognize their challenges, suggest practical solutions on what to do, and highlight areas where the hospital can improve its workflow to facilitate patients further. Additionally, by emphasizing all possible shortcomings a hospital may face, you can shed light on other issues that govern a hospital and can disrupt patient care.
5. Leadership
Medical cases can get chaotic. At one time, there may be numerous tasks you need to handle when caring for your patient. During such situations, you must know how to prioritize tasks you must address immediately and those you can allot to other team members.
When you can channel yourself as a leader, you can make a massive difference in the patient’s well-being. As a result, methodologically treating patients can boost their health, allowing them to recover in no time.
Final Thoughts
Nurses need to continue working on themselves. Education not only makes them better healthcare workers but allows them to offer the best care to patients. Nurses are known for their skills. You can only polish and build these skills by allowing yourself to study ahead. Advanced degrees expose you to concepts and skills that reshape you as a nurse. These include making you more confident, firm, and observant when treating patients.
As a nurse, you must be dedicated, quick on your feet, and determined when looking after your patients. Ultimately, your skills will make you an advocate for your patients, making you an experienced and valued nurse in the long run.