Health is vital to every human being. It is the primary factor in determining the well-being of every living thing. Therefore, individuals who have decided to make a career out of providing
healthcare services and becoming healthcare professionals are typically often sought after.

The current global COVID-19 pandemic is proof that healthcare workers are crucial to the survival of our society. However, in addition to the many years of academic study, healthcare workers must first go through to practice in their various fields, there are specific soft skills  every professional need, to become essential healthcare workers.

  1. Communication Skills: The ability to effectively communicate with patients is an important skill every healthcare worker needs to possess. The nature of healthcare is customer-facing, and this means that workers have to interact with patients on a frequent face-to-face basis. It is, therefore, necessary for health workers to understand the proper use of verbal and nonverbal communication to interact appropriately with patients in whatever setting they may encounter. Adequate communication is essential for taking accurate patient history, which in turn will help the healthcare professional provide better treatment.
  2. Research Skills: There is a common misconception that only professionals interested in focusing on academics should be concerned with research. On the contrary, research is an essential skill that everyone – not even only healthcare workers and professionals – of. Research is a systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions. By this definition, a healthcare worker taking detailed patient history is a form of systematic investigation and, by extension, research. The ability to skilfully research a patient’s symptoms will ultimately result in an accurate diagnosis that not only saves a patient’s life but sets that healthcare professional apart from their peers. And it all began with research. In the larger world, research is life, but for a healthcare worker, research is lifesaving.
  3. Digital Skills: It is impossible in this 21st century for a professional in any career not to possess digital skills and knowledge. This fact is even more paramount for a professional practising in such an increasingly technologically advancing field that is the healthcare industry. For a healthcare worker to remain relevant, they must possess digital skills and knowledge on specific procedures and tasks and be able to collaborate with other professionals all over the world to share knowledge, notes and
    learn from peer experiences.
  4. Time management skills: In any career, “time is money,” but for healthcare workers, time costs a lot more; it can determine whether a patient lives or dies. Therefore, it is essential to understand how to prioritize cases and to know how much time or attention to apportion to a specific situation. During certain crisis periods, like this current COVID-19 pandemic, time management can prove to be a beneficial skill when treating several critically ill patients.
  5. Stress management skills: A 2018 research by Practice Business UK, showed that 66% of health care workers reported suffering from work-related stress. This kind of stress typically leads to burnout, which can be disastrous to the healthcare professionals’ own health and career. Being able to identify triggers and stressors related to the work and coming up with coping strategies to deal with it, is crucial to attaining a healthy work-life balance that is necessary to remain productive on the job.

Conclusion

While having technical knowledge of the medical field is the foundation for a career as a healthcare worker, communication, research, technological, time, and stress management are all essential skills that guarantee success in the field.

These five skills mentioned above are by no means the only soft skills that every essential healthcare worker needs to carry out their daily functions efficiently. However, possessing them is a starting point for achieving optimum performance as an essential healthcare worker and professional.

ProStandard UK offers specialized training to promote clinical excellence and professional development. Our services include not only the necessary training to allow you “level up,” but also the technical support needed to secure job placements in both national and
international organizations. Register today at www.prostandarduk.com