Too many nurses battle with low self-esteem; especially Nigerian nurses. The truth remains that the state of the country does not allow nurses, especially young nurses explore opportunities in nursing. Many young nurses have been limited by the system and structure of the country’s nursing, which breeds low self-esteem in nursing. 
Low self esteem is the act of thinking low of yourself, or constantly thinking you are incapable, or incompetent. This blog post is focused on teaching you 5 ways you can improve your self-esteem.
Boost your nursing skills
Nursing is a noble profession, a beautiful one and one of the best ways to boost your self-esteem is to get certified or build more competencies. Have you ever had to stammer before a patient because you did not know have the answer to their question? Inability to answer your patient’s questions or acting unprofessional in front of a patient makes you think less of yourself. If you want to be respected as a smart nurse, then you should work on your. Build a notable profile for yourself. Get yourself on social media, enroll for webinars and events, apply for jobs and equip yourself.
Master effective communication
Communication goes beyond speaking to someone else. Effective communication is the act of communicating in concise, clear, and precise words to your audience. Effective communication is a powerful tool for nurses. Here are few tips to help you communicate effectively:
- Learn to speak clearly and concise
- Make use of nonverbal communication or gestures
- Acknowledge the person you are communicating with
- Ask your patients direct questions and avoid assumption
- Listen to your patients attentively
Don’t seek approval from your patient’s or seek validation
Your patients are your customers and they can provide you with feedback on your service to them. However, you should never take their feedback as an approval, or let their feedback serve as a validation. What validates you as a nurse is your practicing license and knowledge. The moment you seek validation from your patients, you are on a path of self-esteem struggle.
Reward yourself for every new task accomplished
Rewarding yourself is a great tool to ensure that you remain happy, and fulfilled. In Nigeria’s words, rewarding yourself could be called hyping. It creates an aura of confidence around you and ensures that you feel fulfilled.
Enjoy nursing
The only way to avoid feeling overwhelmed and frustrated is to enjoy nursing as your hobby, beyond just a job. Take time out to reflect on nursing, and how nursing has impacted you, and also helped you to impact others. There is no greater way to overcome low self esteem than enjoying what you do. If you constantly feel tired of your job as a nurse you will feel tired, and eventually make you lose confidence. Summarily, low self esteem is often a result of experience, background, and children. However, you can choose to overcome it and build confidence. Nursing is not a dead end, it all depends on you you, never forget that.
I found this very insightful and evocative. I think what was addressed about Nurses looking to their patients for validation is quite true, I struggled with it too not until I had to sit back and re-evaluate where my priorities lie. Thanks alot though, was quite helpful.