Nurse – to value a positive attitude

Abstract

Nurses, as part of the wider community in a country and the world, are just as exposed to the realities of the real world as all the other members of the public. When the negativity and the bad news are added to the stressful and complex environments nurses are exposed to in their workplace, it can be expected that nurses may have a negative attitude towards life and work. The negativity experienced can contribute to high levels of emotional exhaustion and stress, causing anxiety for nurses, patients, and their families. The unusual circumstances during the height of the pandemic, when nurses were the only link between patients and their families, highlighted the need for nurses to have a sound basis to manage their own stress levels. Nurses must be confident in their communication skills to ensure that the messages or information they share are conveyed in such a manner that the receiver clearly understands and that their communication is not adding to everyone’s stress levels. To achieve such confidence, adequate preparation and collaboration are required between nurses and other multidisciplinary team members. A patient admitted to a hospital for a few days will interact with many employees, ranging from the admin clerk admitting them to the hospital, to nurses, physicians, technicians, physiotherapists, and phlebotomists; the list is endless! These interactions involve many occasions where critical information will be shared, making team collaboration essential to ensure that patient safety is maintained. If health professionals do not communicate effectively, misunderstanding, lack of critical information, unclear telephone prescriptions or orders, for example, can impact the care that should be provided.