What Motivates a Nurse?

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All employees are motivated by different things. As a manager, knowing what motivates a nurse helps them be productive. Individuals get into the nursing fields for a few different reasons. One of these is that they want to make a difference in people’s health. In this case, giving feedback to them directly from patients in the form of antidotes collected is important. A manager should encourage nursing staff to share positive stories observed or overheard by other staff including nurses. In staff meetings or as an aside, letting nurses know their work has been noticed and made a difference is important. Some nurses can be detail oriented. In this case, you can provide motivation by sharing outcomes with them in the form of statistics gathered, as in how many patients served or money justified by staff services and good charting.

Employee Motivation and Nursing

Other people get into the field of nursing because they like medicine and science. They are interested in outcomes as well, but less personal. It becomes important to share news and procedure changes with them. Be open when they ask questions and encourage further learning and any resulting new skills should be put to use. In addition, some people will enjoy teaching. If a new skill in learned or you have a staff nurse who comes with a particular skill set and enjoys teaching this should be encouraged.

Teaching can include other nursing staff members as well as physician staff, as doctors have a different skill set from nurses. For example, many doctors don’t know how to do daily things like intubation or setting an I.V. Nurses may also enjoy teaching any volunteer-like job training for high school and college students, looking to see if they would like a career in nursing. Sharing expertise can be truly rewarding and helps staff feel valued. In addition, encourage mentoring within staff. Senior nurses can mentor new nurses and this provides valuable training.

Employee Motivation and Learning New Skills

Work on good communication and mutual understanding to motivate nurses. Since nurses work with so many different people including doctors, patients, administration, medical billers and emergency response technicians; they need to feel like they are being heard and understood. When there is a smooth transition in communication, there are fewer misunderstandings and more cooperation and mutual respect. It cannot be understated how far simple respect can go in making the job place a more comfortable environment. People want to do well and stay long term in places where they are comfortable.

Motivation generally occurs within the individual. In order to have a good nursing staff, it’s important to know your nursing staff. If you are the manager or shift supervisor, keep in mind that every individual has different reasons for being in the field of nursing. Know your staff and what is going on in their lives. Help them feel included and provide opportunities for downtime bonding. When nurses feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves and that they are not alone in their work, they will be happier in their jobs.