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In the mix: What makes a good or bad nurse?

Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, December 1, 2008

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A pleasant nature, an air of confidence, and a good memory are three qualities a Los Angeles Times reader used to describe good nurses in a recently published letter to the editor.

The reader says she has spent a lot of time in hospitals during the past two years with sick relatives and has come to appreciate the effect a good nurse can have on a hospital stay. She says good nurses take the lead with the patient and develop rapport with the patient and his or her family.

However, the reader also had her share of bad nurses. Some nurses, she says, don't seem to care about patients and seem overworked. The reader gives examples of how she has tried to woo nurses into providing better care for her family, lavishing them with compliments, sometimes successfully, other times not.

The reader says good nurses aren't made in nursing school—they have attributes that can't be taught, such as being smart, careful, precise, observant, and compassionate. She also says the education of a good nurse is not just the beginning of their career; it's the beginning of their passion.

Why do some nurses stay in the profession if they seem to have lost their passion for it?

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