Adaptability in nursing

Adaptability, flexibility and a can-do attitude are something that you find in spades in the profession. Adaptability is something a nurse must bring with them to the job. Following her lead, several nurse theorists developed models with examples of the concept of adaptation: the nurse either adapt … The concept of adaptation is historically evident in nursing practice. Nursing plays a vital role in assisting individuals who are sick or well to respond to a variety of new stressors, move toward optimal well-being, and improve the quality of their lives through adaptation. By learning how to be more adaptable a nurse will become better equipped to respond when faced with a crisis. Every medical environment wants a nurse who fits within the existing work environment and is able to anticipate, respond to and manage change on a day-to-day basis. Florence Nightingale showed how the environment required adaptation to meet the needs of the patient.

His point was that when change is afoot, nurses are flexible workers and adaptable thinkers, and they are ideally positioned to lead change and take command. Adaptability in health care means being skilled at integrating a patient's cultural values or beliefs into any encounter with the awareness and ability to adapt behaviours to maximize the patient‟s comfort, reconcile misunderstandings, and be responsive to the patient’s needs Teal and Street (2009). Adaptability and flexibility mean that you display the capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements. He is probably right.