Nurse Continuing Education for Nursing Do’s and Don’ts

• Nursing is a demanding profession; it takes time to learn the ropes and start feeling confident.
• Some behaviors can bring you closer to your professional goals, and others can take you further away from them.
• In this article, you’ll learn which nurse continuing education courses to complete to learn the skills needed to excel.

Nursing isn’t a job for the faint of heart. There’s much to learn and many responsibilities, which can sometimes be emotionally tasking. During one long and stressful shift, certain situations can bring you to tears, while completing the workload can feel like climbing a moment every day. For these reasons, guidance is needed to stay ahead of the game.

In this article, you’ll get suggestions for workplace success and also learn the nurse continuing education courses to help develop the skills to grow in the profession.

Nursing Dos

Maintain Patient Confidentiality

The unspoken question that underpins all interactions is, “Can I trust you?”. The nurse-patient relationship is no different. The person receiving care must never doubt the safety of their privacy. If that belief is lost, they may stop asking for help. The consequences of a breach of this trust are far-reaching and could negatively impact a patient’s life.

If you want to learn more about guarding a patient’s personal information, we suggest taking our Ensuring Patient Confidentiality nurse continuing education course.

Be Kind to Nursing Students

Nursing students are the future of healthcare and deserve kindness and encouraging words. Mentoring them is a chance to be the person you need while in school. Remember, work will always be busy and sometimes short-staffed, but it’s best to show these students the best side of nursing. Sometimes, it may feel like a burden to watch over them, but now you can help shape their careers.

If you want to learn more about behaviors to avoid around nursing students we suggest taking our Bullying nurse continuing education course.

Communicate Effectively With Others

Communication is a skill that all nurses can benefit from using well, whether dealing with a coworker or a patient. There are many ways to interact with others, and having a full understanding of this subject is essential. Being able to listen and speak well ensures that the people around you feel understood and that you understand others. Both are essential to doing any job efficiently.

If you want to learn more about interacting with others, we suggest taking our Effective Communication nurse continuing education course.

Know Nursing Ethics

Nursing is one of the most trusted professions, and ethics serve as a guide for making decisions. Sometimes, emotions and personal beliefs can impede that process. That’s why studying the code of ethics is highly beneficial. It’s there to help when no decision seems right and is an excellent aid in the nursing world.

If you want to learn more about making choices at work, we suggest taking our Ethics nurse continuing education course.

Know How to Think Through Problems

You must rely on your judgment in nursing, so learning critical thinking concepts is vital. Having a process to foresee the possible outcomes for specific actions is an invaluable skill that helps build confidence. Patients depend on you for care, and understanding how to get them the best outcomes is essential.

If you want to learn more about the process of analyzing a situation, we suggest taking our Key Concepts of Critical Thinking nurse continuing education course.

Nursing Don’ts

Don’t Neglect Yourself

Nursing is a rewarding yet challenging career. The stress of caring for everyone but yourself can lead to burnout if left unchecked. For that reason alone, it’s vital to actively and consistently take care of yourself. Remember, self-neglect affects every aspect of life and doesn’t allow for the best patient care to be given.

If you want to learn more about prioritizing self-care, we suggest taking our Burnout nurse continuing education course.

Don’t Lose Your Cool

Nurses must care for all patients, and some of these people find themselves in circumstances that even the toughest among us would want to avoid. It may not be easy, but it’s best to remain composed and act empathetically, no matter how angry or upset someone becomes.

If you want to learn more about how to handle upsetting situations, we suggest taking our How to Deal With Difficult Patients nurse continuing education course.

Don’t Create Medical Errors

The consequences of a mistake made by a nurse have a more significant impact on the public than those made by people outside of the medical profession. If a journalist prints a typo in an article, the error will soon be forgotten. If an RN administers the wrong medication, a patient could die.

If you want to learn more about this subject, we suggest taking our Preventing Medical Errors nurse continuing education course.

Don’t Create Documentation Errors

When people have a big task load, they tend to rush. If a nurse dashes through documentation, that work may become faulty. Unfortunately, these mistakes can lead to medical errors. Therefore, it’s best to double-check all work and clearly understand the record-making process. This practice and knowledge will help increase documentation accuracy.

If you want to learn more about this topic, we suggest taking our Documentation 101 nurse continuing education course.

The Bottom Line

Becoming proficient in a profession is a journey that isn’t completed on the first day of the job or the tenth year in the field. It’s a continual learning process, and the advice in this article is only the beginning of what you’ll learn. Consider the nurse continuing education courses mentioned as foundational education. Invest time in gaining further knowledge, and you’ll find that as you know more, you’ll be able to do more, and that’s where confidence begins.

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