Now that you’ve started on the road to becoming a licensed vocational nurse, it’s time to focus on how you can make your profession as rewarding as possible. Nursing is a challenging field, to say the least, and now that you’ve embarked on the path, here are five qualities that will help you identify as not just a good LVN, but a great one.
Compassion
Easily the most important quality of a good LVN is compassion. Great nurses have it in spades, which isn’t easy. However, it’s likely your compassionate nature that drew you to the industry; a strong desire to help others is surely important. With all the different pressures that a licensed vocational nurse has to face every day, remind yourself that each individual patient has their own set of issues, including their physical condition, that impacts how they see you and the rest of the world. This is also true of your colleagues and other members of your nursing team. Extending everyone an extra bit of sympathy and understanding is an unwritten part of the job description, but probably the most important.
Empathy
Empathy and compassion are two halves of the same coin. Empathy just means that you can relate to the feelings of another person. Doing important work like healthcare can be both draining and exhausting to everyone. Understanding everyone’s feelings doesn’t mean that you have to share them or even agree with them. It does mean that being a nurse requires for you to acknowledge those feelings and, when needed, mirror them.
Self-Awareness
As you move forward with your career path, you will continue to find mentorship and good leadership in your supervisors and more experienced nurses on staff. The more you are able to learn about yourself, especially how you react to sometimes traumatic situations, the more you will be able to cope with the unending challenges of the job. You will, in short order, have to know when to learn to reach out and ask for the support and strength of your colleagues, family members, and friends on super tough days. You also have to gauge the moments when you need to take a break, go outside, or grab a cup of coffee. You won’t always have the luxury of stepping away from a notably taxing situation, but taking 5 minutes as soon as you can could recharge you and help you face whatever your shift has waiting for you.
Intellectual Curiosity
Right now, your LVN courses are putting you through some very intellectually demanding paces. A great licensed vocational nurse will continue to explore changes in the industry, healthcare advancements, and leadership skills for the life of his or her career. The more curious you are, the more you continue to learn, the more satisfaction you will get from your work. Subscriptions to nursing and medical journals, continuing education courses, nursing seminars, and local and national conferences keep your mind sharp and your passion for your vocation alive. Joining professional associations encourages you to network with other engaged and enthusiastic vocational nurses and RNs. That networking pushes you into pursuits you may not otherwise have sought out.
Courage
“How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.”
Florence Nightingale
As a nurse, there are always things that will be unnerving. Nurses face most of the elements of live, including, of course, death, that most people avoid both by choice or luck. Fear is distracting and unnerving. It also has no place in a hospital. It’s natural, however, that you will experience it especially when you’re new to licensed vocational nursing. While it’s a bit of a cliché to say that nurses have to be brave, to overcome their fears, and to embrace the unknown every day, a great nurse is undoubtedly a courageous one.
We trust that if you’ve made it this far, you have everything it takes to be a great LVN. Contact us today to ask us more about enrolling in our next class and our financial aid programs. Email us or call us at 310-559-0225.
Photo Credit: “Nurse” by Walt Stoneburner is licensed under CC BY 2.0
