15 Signs You May Have What It Takes to Become a Nurse

Top Traits & Characteristics of Successful Nurses

Nursing is an incredibly rewarding career for anyone with a passion for helping others. Despite the challenges that can come with the job, nurses are consistently listed among the careers with the highest job satisfaction. According to a 2024 report from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, satisfaction varies across areas of clinical specialties, ranging from 71.1% in orthopedics to 84.9% in psychiatric or mental health (including nurses specializing in treatment of substance use disorders).

If you’re considering a career as a nurse, it’s important to understand what will be asked of you throughout your nursing program and your career. It’s normal to wonder if you have what it takes to become a nurse—if you’re smart enough, or if you have the right traits and natural talents.

Nursing careers are accessible to all types of people who are willing to work hard. You don’t have to be a straight-A student. But you do have to put in consistent effort to improve yourself—personally, professionally, and academically.

To help you make an informed decision about whether nursing is the right career for you, we’ve pulled together a list of the most common traits and characteristics of successful nurses. It’s OK if you’re not an expert in every single one of these areas, but you should have at least a handful of the characteristics on this list if you want to thrive as a nurse.

Want more details about life as an RN? Check out our detailed career guide on how to become a Registered Nurse, and browse our list of the highest-paying nursing jobs.

Top 15 Signs You May Be a Great Nurse

1. You’re a compassionate person.

Compassion for your fellow humans is arguably the most important characteristic nurses need for a successful career. Great nurses genuinely care about their patients’ well-being while maintaining the necessary professional boundaries. This might mean noticing when a patient is in pain and taking steps to make them more comfortable—or something as simple as reassuring a patient who is nervous before a procedure.

2. You’re OK with a physical job.

Nurses don’t have to be world-class athletes, but you should be prepared for a physically demanding job if you’re considering a career in nursing. A typical shift for nurses often involves plenty of standing, walking, lifting, and squatting, so you’ll need a certain amount of physical stamina to perform the job well and minimize your risk of injury. The average nurse walks around four miles during a 12-hour shift.

However, it’s also important to know that if you have physical limitations, that doesn’t mean you can’t become a nurse! Many nurses with a variety of disabilities have had successful clinical careers. Learn more from the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities.

3. You stay calm in stressful situations.

Nursing is a career that requires grace under pressure. Whether it’s a fire in the kitchen or fixing a flat tire on the side of the road—if you can swiftly and calmly take action, it’s a good sign you may have what it takes to become a nurse. Nurses must be prepared to spring into action when a patient stops breathing or goes into cardiac arrest, so if you have a track record of staying calm in emergencies, nursing may be a great fit.

4. You’re observant and notice small details.

If you’ve got a keen eye for noticing details other people often miss, nursing could be an excellent fit for your talents. Subtle changes in a patient’s vital signs, behavior, or speech patterns could indicate potentially serious issues that require immediate intervention. While some people are naturally observant, this is also one of those skills you’ll develop over time as you go through nursing school and gain experience working with patients.

5. You communicate well with other people.

Healthcare is an extremely collaborative field that depends on the combined expertise of multiple professionals. Because of the high stakes in clinical environments, clear communication can make the difference between ideal patient outcomes and potentially serious complications. Whether sharing critical patient information with your colleagues or clearly communicating follow-up care instructions to patients, polished communication skills are an essential trait for any nurse.

6. You’re a natural problem-solver.

Becoming a great nurse isn’t about memorizing a bunch of facts from a textbook. It’s about learning to think critically, and applying your knowledge and experience to make the right decisions in real-world situations. Nurses will frequently encounter situations where things don’t go as planned, and they must be able to think quickly on their feet. If your default response to a challenge is to start looking for solutions, you might make an excellent nurse.

7. You’re good at multitasking.

Nurses are almost always responsible for multiple patients at the same time, which means strong multitasking skills are another essential trait for prospective nurses. While nurse-to-patient ratios vary by department, facility, and even state law, you can almost guarantee you’ll have your attention pulled in multiple directions during any nursing shift.

Each patient under your care may have separate medication schedules and potential complications related to their medical condition. And because mistakes or oversights can have severe complications in a clinical setting, nurses must be able to stay focused while juggling multiple priorities at once.

8. You’re not easily grossed out.

If you’re the type to say “let me see!” when a friend gets a cut, rather than getting woozy at the sight of blood, that’s an excellent sign you may be a good fit for nursing. Nurses are regularly exposed to various bodily fluids and may treat patients in the aftermath of graphic injuries or invasive procedures. While experience will certainly reduce the “ick” factor over time, you’ll need to have a baseline level of tolerance for medical procedures and all the things that come along with them.

9. You learn new technologies quickly.

Healthcare is a high-tech field, and nurses must remain adaptable to using new tools, platforms, and processes throughout their careers. Tech-savvy nurses will have an advantage over people who struggle to embrace new technologies. Record-keeping systems, patient-monitoring tools, and medical devices—to name just a few—are likely to change a lot in the coming years. If you’re the family member who helps set up new gadgets or solve IT issues, that talent may come in handy when learning new medical technologies.

10. You’re respectful of cultural differences.

Anyone who works in healthcare has a responsibility to educate themselves about different cultures, and how to accommodate people’s values and beliefs in a healthcare setting. Validating your patients’ individuality builds the two-way trust you need to treat them as effectively as possible. Cultural competence for nurses is increasingly recognized as a critical part of providing patient-centered care, so your nursing school curriculum will include plenty of instruction on this topic.

11. You’re meticulous about record-keeping.

Keeping accurate documentation is a daily responsibility for most nurses. Treatments, observations, and medications must all be recorded with relevant details to ensure patient safety and streamline shift changes. If your organization skills are top-notch and you’re always the one planning an itinerary for your friend group, those are tendencies you can channel into success in nursing.

12. You step up to advocate for others.

Nurses must be advocates for their patients, which could look like respectfully questioning a colleague when a patient’s safety is at risk, helping patients understand their rights, or helping a patient’s family navigate the healthcare system. Anyone who is quick to stand up for people in vulnerable situations has one of the most important qualities of many successful nurses.

13. You can bounce back after setbacks.

There will inevitably be hard days throughout your nursing career. While a hard day at work for most people might mean a difficult customer or an unfair manager, a bad day for a nurse could involve losing a patient or consoling a family after a tragic and unexpected loss. Nurses must develop a good deal of emotional resilience, and build healthy habits to process the sometimes-difficult nature of their jobs. (Learn more about managing stress and avoiding burnout with these 15 self-care tips for nurses.)

14. You take ethics, privacy, and confidentiality seriously.

Sometimes, nursing involves treating people whose beliefs or lifestyle choices don’t align with your own. It’s important to be able to put aside your personal feelings and uphold the same high standard of care and compassion for every patient. And because nurses have access to health data protected by federal privacy standards, they must uphold strict ethical standards related to their patient’s personal information.

15. You work well as part of a team.

There’s no such thing as a solo artist in healthcare. With so many patients and providers coming and going in most clinical environments, collaboration is a non-negotiable part of the role. Almost all nurses work with people who have a variety of roles, titles, and responsibilities, and all of them play important roles in providing patients with the care they deserve.

Do I Have What It Takes to Become a Nurse?

Don’t let this list of traits scare you off—nurses are still regular people, and they’re not expected to be superhuman or perfect all the time. If you’re a caring person who’s willing to work hard and do your best, there’s likely a nursing or healthcare career for you. And as long as you recognize yourself in a few of the items on this list, you may have what it takes to become a nurse.

At Provo College, you’ll have the support to turn your natural talents into a successful nursing career. Thanks to small class sizes and a hands-on approach to learning, our instructors can provide the guidance you need to refine your strengths and work on your weaknesses.

Ready to start the journey toward your nursing career? Learn more about the BSN program at Provo College, where you could earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing and become a registered nurse in as little as three years.