Tips For Building Your Confidence As A Nurse
Working in healthcare is a very noble job and career. You’re helping others and making the world a better place all while applying your skills and knowledge.
While you may love what you do, it may be that you don’t yet feel too confident in yourself or your abilities. It takes time and experience to improve in this area and feel confident so be patient. In the meantime, focus on applying the following tips in your life and job so you can build your confidence as a nurse and truly take pleasure in what you’re doing each day.
Improve Your Skills
One tip for building your confidence as a nurse is to boost your nursing skills. Continue to increase your knowledge and make progress by building upon your current foundation. It may require you to go back to school, take on a side gig, internship, or volunteer opportunity or take a course or class. There are many training opportunities available but you have to be willing to take advantage of them and take the time to work on yourself. The more information you can gather and the quicker you can build your skillset the better you’ll get at your job. Soon people will be coming to you for answers instead of you always asking them.
Look & Feel Your Best
Part of the puzzle when it comes to building confidence is how you look and present yourself. Therefore, make sure you put an effort into your daily grooming and getting ready each day. Also, shop different scrub brands at UniformAdvantage.com and choose options that you like and colors and styles that will look the best on you. You’ll feel much more confident when you dress for success and love how you look in the mirror before leaving for work. Also, exercise and eat right so that you can maintain a healthy weight and a positive mindset.
Be Curious & Ask Questions
Build your confidence as a nurse by being curious all the time and gathering as much new information as you can about your role and duties. Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions so you can get the answers you need to perform your job better. A curious mindset will help make sure you’re always taking in new information instead of shutting it out. Avoid making assumptions or judgments and listen and be willing to admit to what you don’t know. You’ll feel more confident knowing you have the right answer instead of guessing and making silly mistakes.
Document Your Achievements
Not everyone is going to be paying attention to what you’re doing and accomplishing. It’s up to you to build your confidence as a nurse by knowing how you’re contributing to the workplace and your team. Set goals and then document your achievements and keep score so you can see for yourself all you’re able to do in your current role. You’ll realize that you’re doing more than you assumed initially and that there’s still room for growth. If you’re ever feeling defeated or like you’re not doing enough then sit down and review your list of achievements to help you get into a better headspace.
Avoid Comparisons
Constantly comparing yourself to others may make you feel like you’re not good enough or cut out for the job. Comparisons will steal your joy and may cause your confidence to take a nosedive that may set you back a bit. Build your confidence as a nurse by focusing on yourself and your goals instead of what others are up to and doing. Look in the mirror and concentrate on improving and bettering yourself. It’ll help you keep a more positive mindset and allow you to focus on what’s going to help you move your career forward so you can get better at your job.
Take on A New Task or Challenge
Push yourself to take on new challenges and tasks if you want to build your confidence as a nurse. Take on different responsibilities that are outside of your job description and usual requirements. Stretch yourself to see what you’re capable of and can do when you put your mind to it. It may feel uncomfortable at first but this is what will help you grow and develop over time. You’ll quickly be able to get a better idea of what direction you want to head with your nursing career and if you want to get into management someday in the future. It’s an opportunity to use new skills and you may even be able to position yourself to be in the running for a promotion. Let your confidence build and come from within you instead of always seeking approval from others.
Master Effective Communication
If you want to be an effective and successful nurse then you must be able to master having effective communication. You’re communicating with different parties and people daily such as coworkers, bosses, and patients. You must be able to get your message across quickly and clearly and avoid any confusion. It’s not only about communicating and talking but doing so assertively and with authority and confidence. You want people to respect and trust you and listen when you talk. It’s finding a way of conversing and giving orders in a way that you’re speaking clearly but not condescendingly.
Always Be Prepared
Another tip for building your confidence as a nurse is to always be prepared. Be professional in all your interactions and show up on time. Know your job duties well and perform them without making careless mistakes. It may help to have a checklist or daily to-do list you can refer to and follow. Ask yourself if you have all you need before entering a meeting or a patient’s room. Also, if you’re calling or talking to a doctor then make sure you’re prepared with having the chart or report they’re asking for ready to go and with the knowledge to discuss the information.
Take Good Care of Yourself
Self-care is also important when you’re a nurse working long or odd hours. If you want to perform well and feel energized and confident then you must take good care of your health and yourself around the clock. It’s all about getting good and enough sleep, eating healthy meals and finding productive ways to reduce and manage your stress. You’ll do a better job at work when you’re well-rested and look and feel great. Build confidence as a nurse by putting your needs above all else and putting yourself in a position to perform your best work possible.
Find A Mentor
You can also build your confidence as a nurse by learning from others and those who you look up to. Find a mentor who you trust and who has your best interest. Open up to them about your insecurities and your fears. Listen when they offer tips and advice and be willing to change your ways, habits, or approach based on what input they have to give. It may help to shadow them or see them in action so you can learn from observing and watching them on the job. It’ll be helpful to have someone who you can bounce ideas off of and confide in whenever you’re feeling apprehensive or unsure of yourself. They can be there to pick you up and give you the boost you need to regain your confidence and prove your skills and abilities to others.
Ask for Feedback & Make Changes
You may be lacking confidence because you’re not sure of your strengths and weaknesses. In this case, it may be useful to ask for feedback from others and see what they’re observing about your performance. Once you work on improving in these areas and can overcome the personal challenges you’re facing with your job tasks, you can begin to feel more self-assured. Take this advice and feedback and make changes that help you excel in your role and get noticed. You can build confidence as a nurse by being honest with yourself about what you need to work on and then putting in the hard work to ensure you get better at what you’re doing.
Conclusion
You now have tangible and practical ways for how you can build your confidence as a nurse and continue to work your way up in your career. It can be difficult to go to work each day when you’re unsure of yourself or how you’re doing. Confidence will help you excel in your role and show others that you have what it takes to be a successful nurse. You’ll soon enjoy waking up each new day to head to work and having the opportunity to put your skills into action and help others. Not only will having confidence allow you to do your job better but you’ll also likely be a happier person and feel more comfortable in your own skin. Whenever you find yourself lacking confidence you can always turn to these tips and review them so you can get back on the right path to feeling great and sure of yourself.
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