Essential Skills Labor and Delivery Nurses Need To Have
Written by SayStudent-admin // 2022/02/01 // Career Planning // Comments Off on Essential Skills Labor and Delivery Nurses Need To Have
For every beginning nurse, there’s one that may not have all of the necessary skills to help them succeed in their field. Specifically, the essential skills labor and delivery nurses need to have must begin when they first enter their role. As you move into yours, start developing these habits to help yourself build better relationships with patients and fellow coworkers.
Empathy
The labor unit can be intensive, but the critical part of your job is to be empathetic toward your patients and their families. In other words, you must show emotion and connect with the mother on a different level.
At this point in your journey as a labor and delivery nurse, the moment you show a shred of empathy is when you begin understanding patient dignity in the maternity ward.
Ability To Build Relationships
The other element that a labor-intensive nurse needs is the ability to build relationships. While connecting and communicating with patients, you need to how to interact with everyone on the delivery team. This is a crucially personal and intimate moment between all parties.
The moment you welcome life into the world, you need to show compassion and be there with open arms and plenty of support as the mother goes through intense pain during the delivery. The more developed your relationship is between you and the people in the delivery room, the more positive the experience will be for the new parents.
Patient
It’s essential to develop empathy, but when it comes to handling yourself under pressure while talking with the birth parents, you need to control your own emotions. When maintaining yourself, you prevent the patient from crying or growing angry.
Although the labor and delivery unit becomes busy and you can become stressed, remember that the spotlight needs to be on the mother, and you need to have a calming demeanor when around.
Culturally Aware
Many hospitals attempt to be as culturally aware as possible, especially when dealing with specific religious beliefs, rituals, and prayers. When in the unit, never make another person feel bad about their beliefs. Just because their culture isn’t like your own doesn’t mean you get to pick what works for them.
So, while you develop your communication skills, don’t forget to sit down and learn about your patient’s background, such as their beliefs and customs. Also, you know how to respect others when you become culturally aware.
As you learn the essential skills for labor and delivery nurses, you now have a foundation of abilities to develop for the future. Not only will you become a better nurse, but you end up with a better way of handling yourself when around different patients.
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