From time to time I have nursing students tail me for two, three, five week or longer blocks.

photo credit: b a r t

These are people at varying stages of their studies, but mostly are second or third year students.

While it holds true that there are a lot of factors that make up a ‘good nurse’, there’s one thing that sparks my interest in particular. Some nursing students have it, some don’t. Some nurses who’ve been nursing for a long long time have it - and some don’t!

What is it? The ability to see the bigger picture. To think outside the square. Call it whatever cliche you want, I’m talking about people who have the ability to see outside of their little world of “what task am I finishing now?”

I’m still not entirely sure whether this is something that can be taught, or whether some people just get it. I’m sure there’s some people who could improve this quality, and there’s definitely people who are completely unteachable!

How to think outside the square

Here’s a few things you can think about doing at work to make yourself a better nurse. People who think outside the square tend to do these things automatically:

• Be aware of what’s going on with the nurses near you
• Have a general awareness of what’s going on in the department as a whole
• Offer to give other staff a hand when you notice they’re struggling
• Don’t get caught up in rules and regulations for the sake of them - think for yourself, why is that “the policy?”
• Don’t be near sighted or lacking peripheral vision - be aware that you are one piece of a larger puzzle
• Just because someone ticks you off for some reason or other, don’t allow your words to be dripping with sarcasm and spite - it affects everyone else around you!

What about you - have you had experiences with these kinds of people?