Five Soft Skills of Nursing

Nursing is a complex and nuanced field of care. It is so much more than simply administering medication or answering call lights but also requires more than a thorough knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and assessment-taking. In order to be an excellent nurse it is ideal that future nurses also develop some “soft skills” not learned through studying a textbook or listening to lectures. Empathy, Patience, Confidence, Curiosity, and Equanimity are five skills that are imperative to being an excellent nurse both to patients and also to co-workers. 

Empathy is the ability to understand and even share the feelings of another. Many people enter into nursing because they naturally possess a good deal of empathy. What I have seen in my experience as a CNA on an ICU is less about developing empathy and more about not losing it. As a future nurse, I want to be mindful about not losing my proclivity for empathy so that I can continue to be present and understanding to the fear and worry that patients and their families experience.

Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Patience is an essential soft skill because so much can happen on a shift that is out of a nurse’s control; being able to take a breath and not rush or react but to respond thoughtfully and mindfully is a skill that I hope to continue to develop under many different stressful situations. 

Confidence in one’s self is the belief that you are a person that can be relied upon. Confidence is an extremely important soft skill because it allows you to be a reliable and trustworthy teammate to all of the various people you’d be working with as a nurse: other nurses, providers, patients, and family members. I have the soft skill of confidence because I trust not only my knowledge and experience, but also my intuition and my ability to ask for help, thus making me a reliable member of the medical team. 

Equanimity is mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation. There are many personalities and emotions at work in a hospital; nurses deal with patients in all sorts of critical conditions, in addition to distraught family members, and members of various other specialties. This can create tense environments and a nurse who can remain composed (utilizing Patience, mentioned above, no less!), is a nurse who does not add to the stress but can actually help alleviate it. I both have an equanimous character that could also stand to be developed more as I imagine there are difficult situations I have yet to experience that will surely test my composure. 

Curiosity is the strong desire to know or learn something. As nurses (all medical professionals, really!) there is always something new to learn and to grow in. Lacking a sense of curiosity can lead to stagnation in one’s practice. No matter what we experience we must continue to ask questions and learn more: both hard skills and soft skills. I have been curious in other aspects of my life, devouring books on subjects that interest me, and I am excited to bring that love of learning to the clinical setting as a nurse.