What characteristics should a practical nurse working in health care today possess?

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CHARACTERISTICS THAT A PRACTICAL NURSE SHOULD POSSESS
Nurses are involved in many important activities in hospitals, clinics and medical centers. They are supposed to keep a trend record of the patient’s medical condition. They are supposed to notify the doctor and parents of any deterioration in the patient. The work may be stressing to some and others may not cope with the work involved. A practical nurse is therefore required certain skills to enable him/her to fit in this field.
Emotional stability is an important characteristic that a nurse should possess. The nurse will witness and experience both joyful and very painful conditions of their patients. A practical nurse may witness a patient who had been very sick and almost died recovered; this may bring much joy. Later in the day a patient who had become dear to them may unexpectedly die. The nurse should be able to cope with these highs and lows (Vistacollege.edu).
A nurse working in any healthcare facility should be caring. Nurses are daily involved with different patients with different conditions, some very sick who need close and specialized care and treatments. A nurse should be able to be caring for someone they have never known and without this characteristic; one cannot survive in this job.
Practical nurses should possess a physical endurance characteristic. The nurses are usually serving patients the whole day and could even at times care for patients for over twelve hours, which would be practically the whole shift.

Vacations and breaks are usually very few for nurses so they should have a strong physical endurance if they want to stay in this job for a longer period (Vistacollege.edu).
Another important characteristic that nurses should have is being a good communicator. It will be necessary to inquire from the patient regularly how they are feeling to be aware of any deterioration. The nurses will also need to answer very many questions from parents about the patient. They will also need to communicate with doctors and colleagues regularly hence one should be a good communicator.
Nurses are required to be quick thinkers; they should be able to make a quick decision when they notice something amiss in the patient. If one takes a considerable time to decide what to do, nursing cannot be their career.
Reference
Vistacollege.edu, ‘Top Ten Qualities Of A Great Vocational Nurse | Vista College Blog’. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.