Healthcare is one of the most rewarding industries to work in. As a healthcare worker, you play a key role in improving the lives of hundreds of people every year, and without your hard work, many adults and children would struggle to live happy and healthy lives.
In home health care sector is vast and there are thousands of different roles within the industry. Depending on your qualifications, preferences, and skillset, there might be a specific role perfectly suited to you.
Each specific role within healthcare is important in and of itself. From doctors and nurses to dietitians and counselors, every member of the multidisciplinary team must work closely together to ensure that every patient gets the best care possible.
Depending on the specific role that you take within healthcare, you might need a certain skill set. For example, a patient-facing role (such as a doctor or nurse) will require different skills and qualities than a non-patient-facing role (such as a medical secretary or cleaner).
However, there is a range of skills that every healthcare worker should have, no matter who they work with or where they work. Even those who don’t necessarily come into contact with patients directly must still possess interpersonal skills and caring qualities. Those who regularly interact with patients will still need to possess admin and clerical skills to provide the best patient care.
Let’s run through some of the key skills and qualities that every healthcare worker must have in order to succeed within their roles. If you are considering entering the healthcare industry, this list should help you to determine whether healthcare work is the career for you.
Table of Contents
Great Communication Skills
Communication is a vital skill for most jobs. However, it’s particularly important in healthcare, especially for those who are interacting with patients on a daily basis.
Even for those who work on the admin side of things, great communication is still required. Administration and clerical staff must communicate with their team members, managers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team.
Some Administration staff will interact with patients over the phone or via email. For example, medical secretaries must arrange appointments with patients and answer incoming inquiries. They will also need to communicate regularly with the consultants and specialist nurses within their department.
Healthcare is not just about treating patients. It’s also about interacting with them on a human-to-human level and building a strong connection with them as healthcare workers. The stronger the connection, the better the patient outcomes.
For healthcare workers that are in a patient-facing role, strong communication skills help to build a trusting relationship. You must be able able to inform patients of their treatment plans in a clear and concise manner while also helping the patient to feel comfortable.
For example, if you have a patient who has recently been fitted with a hearing aid and they are feeling distressed and worried about using the device, you must be able to clearly explain the benefits of hearing aids. You must be able to show them how to properly use the device and fit it comfortably onto their ear.
If you are a nurse working in a diabetes clinic, you must be able to communicate the key information about the condition to your patience. Part of your role will be providing advice on how your diabetic patients can live a healthy lifestyle and manage their chronic conditions.
When you have great communication skills, your patients are more likely to take your advice on board. It’s a key skill that can significantly improve your patient care and satisfaction.
Tech Savvy
Technology has infiltrated the healthcare industry over the last few decades so much so that, if you want to work in healthcare nowadays, you must be tech savvy. You will be using technology every day during your shift, whether you work in the hospital or in a community-based role, such as providing in home health care to patients.
Patient notes and medical records are now stored digitally. If you need to take a patient’s vital signs, you will most likely use a machine to do so. When you are scanning or testing patients for disease markers, there will be a range of tools and equipment that you will use to help you make accurate diagnoses.
Various gadgets help doctors to work more efficiently during clinics and admin staff use sophisticated software to keep track of patient’s details and appointments. No matter which role you take on within the healthcare sector, you will need to scrub up on your tech skills!
Amazing Teamwork Skills
There are very few roles in healthcare that don’t require you to work within a larger team. Whether you’re working on a hospital ward, in a community-based role, or in an office, you will need to have great teamwork skills to provide the best patient care and make sure everything runs smoothly.
A higher functioning team can improve patient outcomes and patient satisfaction. By cooperating with every team member and being willing to help your colleagues in every way possible, you can keep your patients as happy and healthy as possible.
Ability to Manage Stress
As rewarding as working in healthcare can be, it’s also a very stressful industry. With an increasing number of patients needing medical help, extra responsibility is being placed on the shoulders of every healthcare worker.
When you’re working in a patient-facing role, other people’s lives are in your hands and this puts you under a lot of pressure. If you don’t have effective stress management skills, you could end up getting stressed, overwhelmed, and burnt out.
Burnout is closely associated with poor physical and mental health. If you are chronically stressed, you are at an increased risk of developing a chronic medical health condition. You will also get demotivated at work and may lose interest in your passions outside of the workplace.
To avoid burn out and ill health, you must know how to manage your stress and, instead, use it to thrive within your role.