I believe that among all careers available today, those dealing directly with people are the hardest. Although it seems so easy to communicate with human creatures, it is actually a tough task to accomplish. The problem is you cannot get into other person’s mind and retrieve the information you need, you can never fully understand what their intentions are, finally, you never know what to expect as a reaction to your words. Considering all above mentioned, I can assume that my excellent communication skills can be defined as one of the qualities that distinguishes me from others.
It all started from my childhood when I was always a center of children’s buzz – actually, in most cases I was the one initiating those buzzes. Luckily for my parents, they never had to worry if I could make friends with new kids from our neighborhood, or from my kindergarten, or just in the park when playing - whenever I saw a new face not far from me, I would definitely go and get acquainted with the child. No wonder I had so many friends that my parents were not really sure if we could host all of them in our house at my birthday parties, so we often ended up celebrating them outside.
As time passed by I realized that I actually get pleasure from communicating with people and making new friends. Besides, as far as I know, all of my friends and acquaintances enjoy talking with me too. Analyzing reasons why I ended up being such a showy type of a ‘people’ person, I could define some secrets to successful communication I possess. First of all, I like listening to people and getting an idea of what they are saying. This is a quality most people lack and, consequently, it leads to many misunderstandings and quarrels. I never interrupt a person while he or she is speaking and I try to induce them to even speaking more – as a matter of fact, people strive for being listened to as this is the easiest way to express their personality and, in most cases, get some feedback too (or at least an emotional reaction). Secondly, I never impose my point of view if it is being rejected by my interlocutor. It does not mean that I never discuss it though – I often give arguments and try to make my thought clear, but at the same time I also listen to the other side’s reasoning. This helps me be a persuasive person as I never give false or just abstract arguments – I try to be very logical and consistent. And lastly, I always empathize with my interlocutor and show my reaction to what he or she is saying – I nod, I smile, I rebel, I speak up my point of view, I sympathize and I even cry sometimes. This lets the speaker know that I am not indifferent and I care for them.
Taking all above mentioned into consideration, I decided that my lifetime career should be somehow connected with people – why would not I use my talent to treat people the way they want to be treated during conversation and let us both get pleasure from this process? Every person should do what they like doing and, most importantly, what they can do properly. Communication is my field of expertise and, undoubtedly, it can benefit the nursing profession.
I am convinced that strong communication skills are the basis of the nursing profession – even if there is a situation when you cannot actually help a patient with your nursing skills, you can always use your words as healing or compassion, as support and motivation. Words are precious – many people just do not realize how powerful their words might be. Moreover, the ability to actually listen to a patient is also among the main principles of being a professional nurse – you cannot help a person unless you fully understand what he or she wants. For me listening is a part of caring, it is a means of treatment.
One more trait of character I can also boast of is my ability to adapt to any conditions and act fast accordingly. Although it might be a common must-have skill in many professions, it is especially valuable and important in all medical specialties. Having a proper prompt reaction is crucial for a nurse as many lives can depend on it. I have that unique sixth sense based on my previous experience and knowledge that helps me retrieve necessary information from my mind and act immediately. I am more than sure that this will greatly contribute to my professional formation as a nurse.
Furthermore, I consider myself to be a strong-willed person who always takes full responsibility for any actions taken. I realize that while working as a nurse there might be very stressful situations when I would be under pressure and when quick decisions should be made. However, I am always decisive and whenever I feel confident about what I am going to do, I never wait for any signs from above to take necessary actions – I go and I act. Besides, I never leave problems without actually solving them – luckily for my future patients, I am not that kind of person who would better shift the responsibility to someone else than make their own decision. Having a strong-willed personality is also helpful when it comes to studying and acquiring knowledge, so I have character’s natural prerequisites to getting to know more and more things in medicine and nursing.
Although I possess all of previously mentioned skills and can definitely already start implying them in the process of studying and working as a nurse, I still try develop and master these qualities whenever I have an opportunity. I am a self-motivated person and I strive for excellence when it comes to something I really like doing. Thus, when I chose nursing as my future profession I knew that it would require very much effort, dedication and willingness to face numerous obstacles. Being a strong-willed person able to adjust to various conditions and act promptly in any situation, having perfect communication skills, longing for excellence in anything I do I feel very confident about stepping on the career path of a nurse.
