Soft skills are most commonly known as personality and communication skills and are an important, yet often neglected part of the healthcare industry.
For example in the nursing industry, employers would naturally expect nurses to possess functional knowledge of medicine and common procedures like inserting an IV or administering an NG tube feed. These expectations often drive students to focus on the practical knowledge or ‘hard skills’ while ignoring the importance of soft skills.
Why Soft Skills Or Personality Skills Matter
Human beings thrive on connection, especially positive connection. When people are worried, shocked, or hurt, they need reassurance, understanding and care to feel better.
Because all these emotions are common among patients, there is a need for healthcare professionals to be empathetic and compassionate with their patients, demonstrating soft skills.
Some examples of soft skills include:
- Patience and compassion
- Honesty
- Strong work ethic
- Following ethics
- Good communication
Employers Are Gradually Realizing The Importance Of Soft Skills
It is important for healthcare employers to ensure that patients have a good overall experience with them. Effective communication or soft skills can play a key role here.
Most patients are asked to fill out forms where they rate their service experience and answer questions like “were you treated with dignity?” and “were the procedures explained to you?”. The answers to these questions depend largely upon how patients were treated, and whether they truly felt care for at the facility.
How Can Nursing Students Develop Their Soft Skills
One of the first steps to developing soft skills as a nursing student, is to observe the way you interact with your patients and notice where your skills may be lacking. The next step, is to develop a skill improvement plan and practice it daily.
It is important to understand that mastering these skills may take time and you won’t be perfect from the beginning. This would be an ongoing process that would span across the entirety of your career.
If you feel like becoming a certified nursing assistant is your true calling and you have the skills for it, we can help!
Our team of highly qualified professionals at the Serenity Nursing School offer a robust five week CNA program to help you develop a fulfilling career.
For more information, call up at 818-963-8345 or contact us online.