17 Essential Skills for Healthcare Professionals

If you're considering a career in the healthcare industry, you may be curious about which skills you'll need to succeed on the job. This rewarding profession draws on a variety of soft and technical skills to deliver exceptional patient care.    

Keep reading to discover the necessary skills for healthcare professionals.

Soft Skills for Healthcare Professionals

Soft skills are intrinsic, personal attributes that help you work effectively with others. Soft skills in the medical field are especially important, as you'll work directly with patients seeking care to improve their health.

1. Empathy

Empathy is crucial for healthcare professionals who work with people of all backgrounds. Empathy allows you to put yourself in another's shoes, feel what they feel, and understand their emotions. With this level of insight, you can provide your patients with personalized, holistic care.

2. Communication

Communication is a major part of your role as a medical professional. You'll discuss critical patient information with your colleagues, so you'll need to be able to express yourself clearly and be an active listener. You'll also communicate with your patients and their loved ones about how they're feeling and their prescribed treatment plan.

3. Teamwork

Healthcare delivery is a multi-faceted practice, and patients experience positive outcomes when they have a team of dedicated professionals to support them. Having a team-player attitude will help you collaborate with others to deliver the best possible care to your patients.

4. Work Ethic

A strong work ethic means you value hard work for its moral benefits and character-strengthening abilities. When you have a good work ethic, you're motivated to perform your job to the best of your abilities.

The healthcare industry requires long hours and sometimes challenging work, so it's important that you have the determination and drive to succeed.

5. Stress Management

Healthcare jobs can be demanding. Shifts are often long, patients can have complex needs, and the emotional toll of working with people in need can be taxing.

Healthcare professionals must know how to cope with the inevitable pressures of working in the medical field. Properly managing stress will allow you to remain calm in tense situations and avoid burnout.

6. Time Management

Time management is a necessary skill in any career, but when people's lives are on the line, it's even more critical. Your shift will be filled with many important tasks, so it's helpful to know how to prioritize them and complete them efficiently.

7. Positivity

A positive attitude is infectious, and having one can benefit both your patients and your colleagues. A smiling face and a cheerful attitude can brighten their moods, helping them stay strong through various situations.

8. Flexibility

As a medical professional, each shift you take on will present a unique set of challenges. You'll care for diverse groups of patients with varying needs, and because patient conditions can change rapidly, you'll need to be able to adapt. Flexibility is key for handling the demands of the medical field.

9. Confidence

You'll likely spend time with patients face-to-face, so it's important to project a self-assured, competent attitude. Having confidence in your abilities can help foster trust and lead to a positive patient experience.

Hard Skills for Healthcare Professionals

Hard skills, or technical skills, are objective, measurable abilities typically learned in training, school, or work experience. Healthcare professions have varying skill sets, with some that overlap.

The following hard skills are common across most healthcare jobs:

1. Vital Signs

Vital signs are reliable indicators of a patient's health status at any given time. Vital signs include blood pressure, heart rate or pulse, body temperature, breaths per minute or respirations, and blood oxygen saturation.

Because vital signs can be measured quickly and easily, they're a skill nearly all healthcare professionals should have. Your training program will teach you how to accurately measure vital signs manually and electronically. 

2. Emergent Care

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving intervention used when patients experience cardiac arrest. It's important for everyone working in patient care to be skilled in delivering CPR so they can offer assistance when needed.

You'll attend CPR training as part of your healthcare education. Once you're on the job, you'll renew your CPR certification yearly to refresh your skills and stay current with evolving healthcare practices.

3. Patient Confidentiality

Healthcare settings are governed by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a set of laws that prevent health information from being shared without the patient's consent or knowledge. Medical professionals must comply with HIPAA to protect the integrity of the healthcare system.

Patient confidentiality skills involve being diligent with patient information. All healthcare professionals receive HIPAA training to ensure they maintain a confidential work environment.

4. Electronic Medical Record Knowledge

Nearly all healthcare facilities use electronic medical records (EMRs) to store patient data, including histories, diagnoses, medications, test results, and other crucial information. You'll use the EMR frequently to record patient interactions and other important information.

There are various platforms that provide EMRs, so while you'll gain experience using them in your medical training, you'll need to adapt to the specific platform your employer uses when you enter the workforce.

4 Skills to Include on Your Healthcare Resume

In addition to the technical skills relevant to your role, the following skills show potential employers you have everything it takes to be an outstanding healthcare professional:

1. Attention to detail: With so many moving parts, a job in healthcare requires strong attention to detail. Employers want to know you can remain focused while performing care interventions and recording patient data.
2. Organization: Organizational skills are crucial to prioritizing patient care and other tasks that will come up in your day.
3. Collaboration: Potential employers want to know if you work well with others. After all, it takes a team of healthcare professionals to provide thorough, holistic care. You can expand on this skill in your resume by stating which medical professionals you have collaborated with and in what ways.
4. Adaptability: As we discussed, things can shift quickly in the medical field. To be successful, you must be able to adapt to changes seamlessly. Including adaptability on your resume shows employers you're ready for the job's demands.

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