Healthcare is a changing world, and making the promise to yourself that you are going to be the best healthcare professional possible is something that most nurses and doctors do on the first day of their training.
It’s not just as simple as making a promise to be a half-decent doctor though, being an excellent member of the healthcare profession means working towards standards that are incredibly high when compared to others in the field.
Reader's Roadmap
The Need For High Professionalism In Healthcare
If you’ve got a degree in healthcare, it can be easy to focus your career out of necessity. Without professionalism, because of the nature of their training, many would feel terribly pressured to take on jobs such as sole prescriber, which can lead to staff burnout and personal stress.
With that said, one of the most important parts about being an excellent member of nursing or medicine is your ability to provide care and advice to your patients and treat it as an illness, rather than just a disease.
This means that you’re providing excellent care at all times and not just because you have the skills needed to do so. Some people aren’t going to be in a position to take the best care they possibly can, and that’s when they need a nurse or doctor who can provide that level of service regardless.
The Best Medicine is Evidence-Based
If you’re going to become an excellent professional, it’s important for you to focus on evidence-based medicine and ensure that you’re giving the best possible care in your evidence-based practice.
You can’t treat a patient and expect them to get better if you don’t have the correct diagnosis, and many healthcare professionals often overlook this fact. This can lead to situations where nurses or doctors simply try and fix problems, but don’t get the right diagnosis at the same time.
Evidence-based medicine means that your diagnostic skills are top of their game and that you’re able to provide your patients with a diagnosis that is based on what has worked in past cases.
What Constitutes An Excellent Healthcare Professional?
Excellent doctors and nurses are ones who are able to use their skills, knowledge, and experience to give excellent care regardless of any other factors that may be relevant.
This means that an excellent doctor or nurse is able to give excellent care regardless of how much time they have with the patient, regardless of whether there are other healthcare professionals around them, regardless of whether their colleagues will find out what they did.
An excellent member of the healthcare profession is one who puts their patients first.
Aiming For Good Customer Service In Healthcare
While any healthcare professional is going to want to be excellent, most of them are also going to want to be attentive and understanding.
Customer service is an important thing for any business, but it takes on an entirely new perspective when you’re treating customers that are in need of urgent care. When you’re dealing with patients who need urgent treatment, you need someone who is able to provide excellent service at all times.
This means that whether you’re dealing with a patient who has an emergency, or one who requires regular care for an illness or injury, you can provide the best possible service regardless of what else is happening around your office.
Being realistic about your goals in healthcare can help with this process.
Excellent Healthcare Qualities To Aim For
Here are some of the qualities that make an excellent healthcare professional, along with the qualities to work towards in order to achieve this.
1. Makes ‘life-saving’ decisions without hesitation
An excellent healthcare professional does not always have to be a person you can completely rely on, quite the opposite.
They are there to save lives by any means necessary, even if it means they have to take that decision when no one else is around because they have studied it for hours on end.
An excellent healthcare professional is someone who will always think of other people before themselves, doing what they believe is right for everyone involved in the situation at hand.
2. Uses their skills and knowledge to the best of their ability
No matter what point in your career you’re at, you need to be able to use your knowledge and skills as best as you possibly can.
Never just grab a book and roll up your sleeves, because that’s not going to help anyone. An excellent healthcare professional makes sure that they know everything about what they’re doing at all times, fully aware of how it applies to real-life cases.
3. Doesn’t expect too much from themselves nor from people around them
An excellent healthcare professional knows that there is always more work for them to do, but doesn’t expect too much from themselves or other people around them.
They are realistic about their goals at all times, meaning that they’re always able to meet them.
4. Understand the proper way to talk with different people
It’s all too easy to think that everyone around you can comprehend what you have to say, but it’s more difficult than you might think.
An excellent healthcare professional knows the best way to approach patients, including what they should and shouldn’t say based on their emotional state of mind. This includes their age, culture, ethnicity, gender, parents’ occupations, etc.
5. Provides excellent treatment to each patient
Obviously, being an excellent healthcare professional means providing the highest level of service, but doesn’t it also means taking good care of yourself? It’s important to ensure that you’re able to get sleep during the night before your shift.
An excellent healthcare professional knows how to get back on their feet after a long period of time on their feet.
6. Is always open for advice for new things in medicine/nursing
Learning is something that many people do not take enough time out for, but listening to what others have to say is extremely valuable.
An excellent healthcare professional knows that they will never know everything, and if someone asks them a question they know the correct answer to, they will happily pass it along.
7. Is honest and willing to admit when they’re wrong
An excellent healthcare professional listens to people, including other medical professionals, and does not shy away from admitting when they’re wrong or when their opinions on a situation do not reflect reality.
This is because they understand that there is more than one way of thinking about something and that different people have different opinions based on their own personal experiences.
8. Is knowledgeable and open to learning
Learning is something that most people would consider an excellent quality in a healthcare professional, but it’s one that seems to be lacking in some.
An excellent healthcare professional is able to accept that they do not have all of the answers and knows how to ask the right questions when they have a problem. Asking for help from others shows intelligence and drive.
9. Is willing to speak with everyone involved in a situation without judgment
This goes back to the fact that being an excellent healthcare professional means being an excellent person, especially when it comes time for them to have a conversation with someone else involved in the situation at hand.
An excellent healthcare professional is capable of listening and not judging to the best of their abilities, and also knows how to speak with different people to get information that they need in order to help their patients.
10. Is able to solve problems and answer questions expediently
Excellent healthcare professionals are able to solve problems and answer questions in a short amount of time, regardless of whether they’re dealing with a non-urgent issue or one that needs urgent attention.
This means doing what’s necessary when it comes to getting your patients the help they need as quickly as possible, including taking the proper steps to avoid other issues from occurring in the future.
11. Is able to genuinely care about their patients
Everyone wants someone who genuinely cares about them, and healthcare professionals are no different.
An excellent healthcare professional not only wants the best for their patients but also wants the best for everyone involved in a situation.
12. Takes pride in knowing that all of their work helps people in some way
An excellent healthcare professional is proud of everything they do because it is doing what they love every day and knowing that all of the people they help every day will help them feel better about themselves – they love what they do despite how busy they can be at times.
13. Is able to remain composed in a stressful situation
Being an excellent healthcare professional can sometimes mean having to deal with stressful situations, but it’s important to remember that you’re there to help others and not let your emotions get the best of you.
An excellent healthcare professional is someone who is able to push any negativity aside and remain calm; they understand that nothing is more important than helping people.
14. Is willing to stay late if it means helping their patients in trouble
Being an excellent healthcare professional also means being an excellent leader, knowing when it’s time for you or someone else to stay later than they were initially scheduled for.
This is because you know that sometimes your patients need help, and it’s your job to help them in any way you can, regardless of how late it has gotten.
15. Is willing to go above and beyond to meet the needs of their patients every day
There are some jobs that simply aren’t easy, but an excellent healthcare professional isn’t deterred by this fact.
They understand that the more they do for their patients, the more likely they are to return for future visits and continue referring others to them so they can continue helping others on a daily basis.
Looking After Your Healthcare Team
Working in healthcare isn’t about being an individual; it’s about working as a team, and you have to have a group of healthcare professionals on board in order to create the best environment for your patients.
If you want your employees to be more effective at their jobs, you’ll need to work with them and treat them more like family members than an employee that is only there for their paycheck.
One of the most important things you can do is to be transparent with your employees about what’s happening in the company.
This will show that there is nothing being kept from them, which can boost their morale and make everyone feel more like they’re working with a team instead of working for someone who is keeping secrets from them. Also, make sure to create a company culture that is positive and uplifting, because your employees want to feel the same way about their work that you do.
They want to go home at night feeling like they’ve accomplished something that they are proud of.
If you do this, it will get everyone off on the right foot together, which will lead to more effective teams working for you in the long run.
Giving Yourself The Best Chance To Excell
At the end of the day, the only thing that truly matters is what you put into it.
While many healthcare professionals will focus on their education and their professional qualifications, most people overlook the most important and sometimes most overlooked factor in healthcare: themselves.
Being an excellent healthcare professional means not only knowing your job and that “it’s not for everyone,” but also understanding that you must take care of yourself if you wish to be an excellent one.
An excellent healthcare professional understands that they can’t be truly happy when they’re unhappy, so they do whatever it takes to ensure their happiness in mind and body.
There are a number of things that can be done to help yourself feel better, from entering a diet and exercise plan to including more relaxation techniques into your daily routine.
If you’re not taking care of yourself, you can’t possibly expect to be an excellent healthcare professional because it simply won’t happen.
Conclusion
When it comes to looking at how important being an excellent healthcare professional is, there’s no denying that it’s one of the most important jobs in the world – which means you have a major responsibility on your shoulders that you need to take seriously each and every day.