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Nursing Attributes, Leadership and Critical Thinking

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Teresa Nabors
Southern Nazarene University

Nursing Attributes, Leadership and Critical Thinking

As many have found over the years, nursing is not a profession cut out for just anyone. The average person cannot juggle twenty things at once, expertly handle emergencies that would send anyone else in a panic frenzy, and all the while remain calm and composed, as an experienced nurse does on a daily basis. What many do not know is that this smooth performance is driven by the nursing attributes, skills, and concepts that are necessary components integrated in the nursing profession of great nurses today. I believe the values of critical thinking, flexibility, strong communication skills, emotional stability, interpersonal communication and advocacy are the hallmark ingredients that distinguish the great nurses from the rest. Nursing is about going beyond the task given and a successful nurse encompasses a degree of these core attributes, as well as understanding the essential knowledge of the necessary concepts of leadership and critical thinking. This paper will discuss the attributes and concepts that I think are necessary in setting nursing apart from just any profession and will reflect on the values and practices that I believe makes me the nurse that I am today .
Being a nurse can be tremendously rewarding to the soul, but it also demands much of those who pursue it. Nursing is a highly honored, trusted profession that has been steeped in rich values based on the work of Florence Nightingale, which has not degraded over time due to the character of the individuals that commit to the calling (Nursetogether). There is a set of basic “attributes” that turns nursing into a higher spiritual calling and differentiates it from other professions. Some of these ideal attributes are empathy, honesty, nurturing, dedication, patience, confidence,

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