Soft Skills Essay

Soft Skills Essay

Soft skills encompass cognitive, personal, interpersonal, and organizational abilities; consequently, practice and particular training are necessary to enhance them. Healthcare practitioners with outstanding soft skills are in great demand by organizations and have a significant influence in the healthcare setting. According to an investigation conducted by Burning Glass, an analytical technology company that delivers data on job growth, skills in demand, and labor market dynamics, more than 25% of healthcare qualifications required are soft skills (Continisio et al., 2021). Abraham et al. (2021) define soft skills as personal attributes that allow one to communicate effectively with others. It is vital to emphasize that essential soft skills encompass critical thinking, emotional intelligence, teamwork, timekeeping, problem-solving, and a solid work ethic, in addition to communication and associated personality traits.

Communication

One of the most important talents to have in the world of healthcare is the ability to communicate (av) effectively. The (av) capacity to (v) listen, grasp, and explain in simple words to patients and (pn) their caregivers improves the ability to deliver (ad) effective and tailored (n) treatment. Clear communication with teammates and interprofessional (n) colleagues is also essential for (v) building successful (v) working collaboration. Communication problems were shown to be a key influence in 70% of (ad) adverse occurrences in hospital settings, (v) according to the editorial in the Journal of Patient Safety (Continisio et al., 2021). Patient safety and satisfaction are enhanced when office workers and physicians communicate (av)effectively (v) during admission, treatment, and discharge. Administrators and managers in clinical and medicine-related contexts must lead by example and support good communication at all levels of their businesses.

(pn) It is important to remember that health service communication occurs in a (ad) complex environment in which positive and negative influences coexist and (av) constantly shift locations. In healthcare, communication takes (ad) numerous forms and may be witnessed in various settings, the most significant of which is (av) definitely that between patient and doctor, which supplies most of the data required for diagnosis. For example, given the significance of information content in patient (n) doctor contact, the focus in the medical system is primarily on verbal communication, (ad) empathy, and the ability to listen to the patient. As a (n) nurse (pn), I have a role in delivering diagnoses and explaining everything to patients and (pn) their families, and answer all of (pn) their questions (ANA, 2021).

Compassion and Patience

Compassion has been linked to better patient perception and a range of patient-reported benefits, including lower symptom load, (ad) greater quality of life, and even higher quality-of-care ratings. Compassionate care is essential for (n) patient-centered care, and ethical and respectful treatment of patients and their families while abiding by a medical oath and serving as a role model for new professionals. According to Malenfant et al. (2022), a compassionate practitioner identifies pain and (ad) vulnerability of (pn) their patient, works to understand each client’s distinctive conditions, attempts to relieve the patient’s distress, and (av) accompany the (v)ailing and vulnerable patient. For example, (v) providing palliative care to (n) cancer patients necessitate (pn) me to adopt a more thoughtful approach that (ad)involves (v) evaluating (pn) their own views as well as meditating on what the patient may be feeling.

Compassionate care in healthcare institutions encompasses empathy, loving, kindness, and respectful attitudes, and it fosters genuine connections between healthcare (n)  practitioners and patients together with their families. It is an (av) encouraging (v) emotion of Healthcare personnel that causes the patient to feel relief from pain. (v) Providing compassionate care can help patients recover (ad) speedily from acute illnesses, improve long-term disease management, and reduce anxiety and stress. Compassionate care is required for (ad) effective medical outcomes, according to almost 85% of patients and 76% of HCPs (Malenfant et al., 2022). Emotional indicators and the nature of responsiveness by HCW may also be important for compassionate care, contributing to therapeutic interaction in innovative ways and improving attitudes toward behavioral changes. In summary, compassionate care is more concerned with human kindness than with clinician-patient interaction. (pn) It also incorporates honesty and commitment to patients. To encourage high-quality care for (ad) all (n) patients’ needs, (pn) I must display empathy and kindness.

Flexibility, Adaptability, And Emotional Stability

Nursing job (av)entails (v)addressing emotional and practical obligations associated with the nursing tasks. Adaptability and flexibility are two key characteristics that (av) enables nurses to (v) overcome crises and be flexible with their procedures and objectives (Middleton et al., 2022). As regulations are (ad) swiftly implemented to accommodate for a flexible healthcare setting capable of providing required treatment at any time and location, health workers must likewise flexibly embrace these policies and develop emotional (av) stability to cope with the policies. This needs more flexible healthcare personnel and environment. For example, the (n) COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point. By being flexible in (v) scheduling of work, (av) amount of (v) working hours, and adjusting to changing healthcare systems, healthcare practitioners were able to react to the scenario at hand and (ad) efficiently prepare and work towards (v) rescuing mankind at the height of COVID-19. Furthermore, (ad) encouraging flexibility can lead to a (ad) variety of innovations that improves patient care.

Adaptability and flexibility assist nurses in (v) managing work performance, stress, fatigue, burnout, and emotional state. (ad) Newly graduating (n) nurses can improve their adaptability and flexibility in practices, settings, and attitudes to become a more resilient future workforce, capable of managing self and environment in a tough healthcare setting that has become more complicated (ad) since the (n) COVID-19 pandemic (Middleton et al., 2022). (pn) It should be noted that adaptation and flexibility both need high degrees of emotional intelligence, emotional control, and management.

Time management

Time management skill encompasses making the most use of the time available through scheduling, goal setting, prioritizing objectives and tasks, communicating, and delegating. Time management is critical in nursing since time lost by nurses is time not devoted to patients, which has a detrimental impact on the standard of care provided to patients. Due to extended work hours, nurses are obliged to work more to complete more activities in a limited amount of time (Ghiasvand et al., 2018). Acquiring time management skills throughout academic years is vital for nurses to achieve the appropriate certifications for joining the clinical setting and providing high-quality services.

Good time management skills are associated with stress alleviation, enhanced creativity, self-efficiency, and patient satisfaction. Exhausting clinical environments, burnout, the application of new procedures for patients, and the fear of causing errors due to insufficient experience can (ad) all lead a (n)nurse to become (n) anxious and waste time. (pn) This can weaken motivation, resulting in poor care quality (Ghiasvand et al., 2018). Being (av) accountable for (v) supplying, safeguarding, and(v) improving general health is an example of time management skill; consequently, it should be given exact attention. Another major reason for time management skills is that (pn) they are related to management and leadership abilities.

Ethics

Nurses must follow the ethical values of justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, accountability, fidelity, autonomy, and honesty. Nurses are responsible for recognizing and identifying ethical concerns that affect both staff and patients. For instance, nursing treatment for patients experiencing abortion may generate ethical and moral questions and dilemmas in some nurses (All, 2018). Multidisciplinary ethics committees convene in hospitals to resolve ethical quandaries and disputes, and when such ethical approaches are available inside the institution, nurses can use them to handle ethical problems and ethical difficulties. This is an example f nurses practicing an ethical skill.

The importance of ethical skills is that when confronted with an ethical problem, the nurse can take immediate measures by comprehending and utilizing the ethical rules proposed in the ANA’s Ethical code, the nurse can use critical thinking and empathy in the ethical use of prescription opioids at the terminal phase of life even though the medication can fasten death. The nurse can also apply ethical elements such as advocacy, teamwork with others, client wellbeing, the dignity of patients, accountability, the protection of patients ‘ rights such as dignity, autonomy, and privacy, and the provision of proficient, reliable, and quality nursing care(All, 2018).

Teamwork

In health care delivery, teamwork has an immediate and beneficial impact on patient safety and result. The necessity for productive teams is growing as co-morbidities and the sophistication of care specialty increase. The advancement of health care and the global need for high-quality patient care necessitate concurrent professional growth in health care, with a strong emphasis on patient-centered teamwork (Schmutz et al., 2019). This can only be accomplished by putting the patient at the center of treatment and sharing a broad set of beliefs and principles. This will aid in formation. This will aid in forming and developing an effective team capable of providing excellent patient care. In order to attain goals and overcome problems, team members’ motivation should be backed up with tactics and practical abilities.

Therefore, each team member’s professional experience is vital for ensuring excellent productivity, but individuals proficient in implementing teamwork and merging team members’ unique skills to guarantee healthcare quality and overall efficiency are even more important. Each team member must interact and engage in collaboration for a team to be productive. Effective cooperation enables safe and effective treatment at all levels of the healthcare system, prompting a current trend toward team research and training (Schmutz et al., 2019). For example, if a laboring woman with rheumatoid heart disease arrives at the labor ward in the second stage of labor, a cardiac team will be contacted to assist the midwives in the birth of the baby. With the example, teamwork can be defined as the activities throughout one team to generate the top standards and most effective outcomes.

Positive Attitude

Since the profession of nursing is characterized by role ambiguity, attitude is perhaps the most crucial component in the profession. According to Rekisso et al. (2022), nurses’ attitudes regarding their work are strongly associated with clinical services and patient contentment. Positive attitudes in nurses are required to deliver selfless service and empathetic care and to be capable of balancing intra and extraprofessional variables. On the other side, nurses have a negative attitude toward the nursing profession, which leads to poor consequences such as giving uncompassionate care, feeling timid, and wanting to quit.

Nurses must discover strategies to maintain a positive attitude, which includes taking a conscious approach to their day and spending less time with negatively oriented nurses. As a nurse, a good attitude may help you deal with workplace stress, come up with innovative solutions to problems, and even build connections with your coworkers by having a positive, welcoming mindset. A nurse who maintains an optimistic attitude is more likely to excel, and a positive attitude will propel you farther into the field of nursing practice and boost your chances of advancement. It can aid in improving the consistency of performance. When one performs well, one’s capacity to achieve one’s ultimate goals, which should include assisting patients in finding healing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, improves. Earning and maintaining a good reputation to grow in your profession is critical to remember while establishing a reputation in the health industry (Rekisso et al., 2022).  nurses with positive attitudes are better equipped to deal with job stress and are more productive when dealing with extreme events. Hospitals look for these essential skills when assessing employees for promotions and advances. It is also a definite approach to receiving a great reference if you decide to move jobs.

Confidence

Professional confidence may impact many elements of a nurse’s skilled productivity, including relationships with patients and coworkers, all of whom influence the patient’s care quality. Confidence is described as an inner sense of self-assurance and composure, as well as being re-examined or validated by colleagues and patients (Makarem et al., 2019). The relationship between healthcare practitioners and patients is crucial to the treatment process. A successful engagement necessitates the confidence of healthcare providers. Makarem et al. (2019) discovered that operating with a low level of confidence during their first year of nursing causes new nurses to doubt if they have the potential to become nurses, which is characterized by a lack of the necessary competencies.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

References

Abraham, T. H., Stewart, G. L., & Solimeo, S. L. (2021). The importance of soft skills development in a hard data world: learning from interviews with healthcare leaders. BMC Medical Education, 21(1), 147. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02567-1

All, S. (2018). Ethical Practice: NCLEX-RN. Registerednursing.org; RegisteredNursing.org. https://www.registerednursing.org/nclex/ethical-practice/

ANA. (2021). Nurses’ professional responsibility to promote ethical practice environments effective date: 2021 status: Position statement written by: ANA center for ethics and human rights. Nursingworld.org. https://www.nursingworld.org/~4ab6e6/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/nursing-excellence/ana-position-statements/nursing-practice/nurses-professional-responsibility-to-promote-ethical-practice-environments-2021-final.pdf

Continisio, G. I., Serra, N., Guillari, A., Lucchese, R., Simeone, S., Gargiulo, G., Toscano, S., Capo, M., Capuano, A., Sarracino, F., Esposito, M. R., & Rea, T. (2021). Evaluation of soft skills among Italian Healthcare Rehabilitators: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Public Health Research, 10(3), jphr.2021.2002. https://doi.org/10.4081/jphr.2021.2002

Ghiasvand, A. M., Naderi, M., Tafreshi, M. Z., Ahmadi, F., & Hosseini, M. (2018). Relationship between time management skills and anxiety and academic motivation of nursing students in Tehran. Electronic Physician, 9(1), 3678–3684. https://doi.org/10.19082/3678

Makarem, A., Heshmati-Nabavi, F., Afshar, L., Yazdani, S., Pouresmail, Z., & Hoseinpour, Z. (2019). The comparison of professional confidence in nursing students and clinical nurses: A cross-sectional study. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 24(4), 261–267. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijnmr.IJNMR_102_17

Malenfant, S., Jaggi, P., Hayden, K. A., & Sinclair, S. (2022). Compassion in healthcare: an updated scoping review of the literature. BMC Palliative Care, 21(1), 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-00942-3

Middleton, R., Kinghorn, G., Patulny, R., Sheridan, L., Andersen, P., & McKenzie, J. (2022). Qualitatively exploring the attributes of adaptability and resilience amongst recently graduated nurses. Nurse Education in Practice, 63(103406), 103406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103406

Rekisso, A. D., Mengistu, Z., & Wurjine, T. H. (2022). Nurses’ attitudes towards the nursing profession and associated factors in selected public hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 21(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-00808-2

Schmutz, J. B., Meier, L. L., & Manser, T. (2019). How effective is teamwork really? The relationship between teamwork and performance in healthcare teams: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 9(9), e028280. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028280

 

Remember to submit your work following the file naming convention FirstInitial.LastName_M01.docx. For example, J.Smith_M01.docx. Remember that it is not necessary to manually type in the file extension; it will automatically append.

Start by reading and following these instructions:

1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the assignment rubric to help you focus.

2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any additional recommended resources. Some answers may require you to do additional research on the Internet or in other reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.

3. Consider the discussion and the any insights you gained from it.

4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Assignment:

Write a 2000-2500 word essay addressing each of the following points/questions. Be sure to completely answer all the questions for each bullet point. There should be eight sections, (about one double-spaced page) for each soft skill. Separate each section in your paper with a clear heading (level one heading) that allows your professor to know which bullet you are addressing in that section of your paper. Support your ideas with at least three (3) citations in your essay. Make sure to reference the citations using the APA writing style for the essay. The cover page and reference page do not count towards the minimum word amount. Review the rubric criteria for this assignment.

Create an essay on soft skills in healthcare

List and identify a minimum of 8 soft skills that are important to have in a healthcare position.
Describe the importance of each soft skill and provide an example of how it may be used in a healthcare setting.
Provide one page for each soft skill (min 250 words). In each paragraph, highlight in yellow a minimum of two medical terms. Identify five nouns, five pronouns, five verbs, five adjectives, and five adverbs by placing the appropriate mark before the word. [ i.e. (n), (pn), (v), (aj), (av)]
Assignment Expectations

Length: 2000-2500 words; answers must thoroughly address the prompts in a clear, concise manner

Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA style. These do not count towards the minimal word amount for this assignment. Each of the soft skills must use a level one heading to divide the paragraphs.

References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly citations to support your claims.

Format: Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx).

File name: Name your saved file according to your first initial, last name, and the assignment number (for example, “RHall Assignment 1.docx”)