10 Professional Skills for Personal Qualities andhsbc.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2015/5/22/43373809/DeLaet_Ch10_PSG.pdfMay 22, 2015 · 1. Recognize personal qualities and skills

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Online Study Guide to Accompany Introduction to Health Care & Careers © 2012 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins18

10 Personal Qualities and

Professional Skills for Success

T o fi nd success in any given career, you must possess the qualities essential

to your chosen vocation. Professions in health care demand a unique combina-

tion of personal and professional qualities.

Personal qualities and skills that are important for any successful health

care professional include enthusiasm, optimism, self-esteem, honesty, patience,

cooperation, organization, responsibility, fl exibility, and sociability, whereas

professional attributes include dedication to public service; being motivated by

job fulfi llment; trustworthiness; competence; good time management; initiative,

problem solving, and critical thinking; and good communication skills. A number

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

After care ful s tudy of th i s chapter, you should be able to :

1. Recognize personal qualities and skills that are important for health care providers, p. 19.

2. List professional attributes that benefi t all health care workers, p. 19.

3. Describe values and how they are developed, p. 20.

4. Identify important values in health care, p. 20.

5. Detect stress producers, p. 21.

altruism (AL-true-i-zәm)autonomy (aw-TON-

ă-mē)

competencehuman dignityinitiative

public servicestresstime management

valuevalue system

KEY TERMS

6. Use strategies to cope with stress, p. 21.

7. Explain the role of nutrition, exercise, and sleep in maintaining a healthy body, p. 22.

8. Recognize the importance of good health behaviors, personal hygiene, and grooming for the health care professional, p. 22.

LWBK951_ch04-p17-22.indd 18LWBK951_ch04-p17-22.indd 18 25/05/11 4:39 PM25/05/11 4:39 PM

C H A P T E R 4 Persona l Qua l i t i es and Pro fess iona l Sk i l l s fo r Success 19

Online Study Guide to Accompany Introduction to Health Care & Careers © 2012 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

of qualities and skills are both personal and professional, such as compassion,

empathy, sympathy, honesty, integrity, and accountability.

Your attitude and integrity directly affect your ability to perform your work.

Health care professionals should also possess certain values such as a respect

for human dignity. Finally, they must also take good care of their own health

and learn effective ways to cope with stress to be fi t for patient care.

BUILD YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Objectives 1 and 2: Recognize personal qualities and skills that are important for health care providers, and list professional attributes that benefi t all health care workers.Crossword

Complete this crossword puzzle using clues across and down to familiarize yourself with important personal and professional attributes.


20 PART II PROFESS IONAL SK ILLS


Across 2. Fundamental trait for any health care profes-

sional and the ability to remain calm in the midst of diffi culties

6. Those with a true passion, enthusiasm, and strong personal desire to help others are more likely to gain this in a health-related career

8. Willingness to acquire and perfect new skills as needed as well as be available outside tradi-tional work times when necessary

10. Health care professionals who project confi dence in their own abilities and help their patients feel more secure display this personal attribute

12. Important personal skill for any health care professional and the ability to interact well with other health care team members

13. This skill involves being able to complete one’s work in a timely manner, while skillfully han-dling any tasks, concerns, or issues that arise (2 words)

14. The positive attitude that shapes a person’s outlook on different situations and affects job performance

15. Personal attribute that involves being person-able and at ease in work-related social situa-tions

16. Clearly and accurately conveying information in both verbal and written forms shows this attribute that is crucial to professional success (2 words)

17. Showing profi ciency in what one has learned as well as the capability of performing related tasks

Down 1. Always doing your own work, avoiding plagia-

rism, and owning up when you are unprepared or your work is not completed is a commit-ment to this personal attribute

3. Ability to act and make decisions without the help or advice of others

4. Professionals who are passionate about their work, take an active interest in their duties, and strive to do the best job possible show this personal attribute

5. Those who perform a career because of the importance of the work itself, rather than what they stand to gain personally from it, show dedication to what? (2 words)

7. When others can count on you to follow through on promises, live up to agreements, and always be honest, you display this profes-sional attribute

9. Willingness to fulfi ll obligations and to be counted on to complete work in a timely, cor-rect manner

11. A key to success in almost any career that involves making a place for everything so that items can be easily accessed

Objectives 3 and 4: Describe values and how they are developed, and identify important values in health care.Jumble

After answering the questions below about values, use the circled letters to form the answer to this jumble (punctuation [e.g., hyphens, apostrophes, etc.] counts as a character).

Clue: What comprises a person’s ranked personal principles, which often leads to a personal code of con-duct? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. A _ _ _ _ _ is a belief about the worth or importance of something that acts as a standard to guide

one’s behavior.

2. Values are often formed by observing and modeling the behavior of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , peers, colleagues, or

others.

3. A concern for the welfare and well-being of others is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.


C H A P T E R 4 Persona l Qua l i t i es and Pro fess iona l Sk i l l s fo r Success 21


4. Respect for the right to self-determination, or _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is another important value in health care.

5. To value _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is to respect the inherent worth and uniqueness of all individuals.

Objectives 5 and 6: Detect stress producers, and use strategies to cope with stress.True or False?

After reviewing the section, “Stress Management,” read the statements below and circle T if they are true or F if they are false.

1. T F Not everyone feels stress, only weak people do.

2. T F Stress has been linked to illnesses and disease.

3. T F Some stress leads to positive reactions, such as motivating people to complete tasks, meet deadlines, and solve problems.

4. T F Bad stress helps people focus and get a job done.

5. T F Health care professionals do not typically feel stress because they never have to deal with excessive demands.

6. T F A person feeling stress generally shows physical signs, such as increased anxiety, agi-tation, or depression that often are easily detected by others.

7. T F Health care providers who are dealing with stress should develop methods and strat-egies for coping with it before it has a chance to get in the way of caring for patients.

8. T F Positive strategies that health care professionals can use to handle stress include overeating, drinking, and using drugs.

9. T F Setting priorities involves determining what to-do tasks are necessary and which are not.

10. T F You should participate in optional activities that do not hold any professional or per-sonal value to you, if other people expect you to and then complain later to relieve stress.

11. T F A simple yet effective method anyone can use to prevent stress producers from get-ting out of control is to write down tasks or situations that produce stress to help spark new ideas for eliminating the stress.

12. T F Accepting a diffi cult task as a normal part of the job and viewing it as an opportunity, rather than complaining about it, can reduce stress.

13. T F John Donne’s quote, “No man is an island,” means that people sometimes depend on others for support.

14. T F A support network probably would not include friends and family members.

15. T F When stress threatens to get the better of you, engaging in enjoyable activities, such as listening to music, can help you reduce stress and cope with the stressful situations in your life.


22 PART II PROFESS IONAL SK ILLS


Objectives 7 and 8: Explain the role of nutrition, exercise, and sleep in maintaining a healthy body, and recognize the impor-tance of good health behaviors, personal hygiene, and grooming for the health care professional.Short Answer

After reading the section, “Personal Health” in Chapter 4, answer the following questions and be as spe-cifi c as you can.

1. Explain why each of the following is important or benefi cial for your health?

a. Nutrition

b. Exercise

c. Sleep

2. List four substances that can interfere with sleep and how?

3. List some personal hygiene and grooming guidelines. Why are they important in the workplace?

4. Name some general guidelines for professional dress? Why is your attire important in the workplace?

EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Essay QuestionAfter reading Nutrition and Diet; Clean Living Could Reduce Your Cancer Risk (http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/clean-living-could-reduce-your-cancer-risk-2706.html), consider your own lifestyle. Write a brief essay about your nutrition, exercise, and sleep habits and identify some improvements you could introduce into your routine to enhance your overall health.


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10 Professional Skills for Personal Qualities andhsbc.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2015/5/22/43373809/DeLaet_Ch10_PSG.pdfMay 22, 2015 · 1. Recognize personal qualities and skills