Characteristics of a good nurse as perceived by nurses
- Abedin, Samireh
- Khademi, Zahra
- Kamalzadeh, Hesamaddin
- Beigi Broujeni, Razieh
Background
Nursing is a humanitarian and social field that provides health services. It combines science and art and has a rich history. Despite fundamental changes in the provision of medical services and nursing education, the concept of “good nurse” is still unclear.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate the characteristics of a good nurse from the nurses’ perspective.
Research design and method
A qualitative study was applied using conventional content analysis. The participants were 30 nurses that selected with purposive sampling method. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and simultaneously analyzed via the conventional content analysis approach of Graneheim and Lundman.
Ethical considerations
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Findings
The study revealed that personal characteristics (Adherence to ethical and human principles, Physical health, Attractive appearance, and Ability to communicate properly); and professional characteristics (knowledge - clinical skill - nursing roles) are essential to being a good nurse.
Conclusion
Coming to know the distinctive features of a good nurse as perceived by nurses themselves creates an opportunity for nurses to rethink their profession and to reflect on the characteristics of the good nurse.