Caring is an important quality in nurse practitioners and in teachers. According to Bella Online, a caring nurse is essential in the medical profession to provide mental comfort and a sense of being looked after. Dr. Jean Watson, a medical writer, also believes the caring energy given by nurses is so powerful that it enhances healing. Similarly, caring teachers can make a significant difference in the process of learning. According to High Beam Research, when students know that their teachers genuinely care, they respond by giving extra effort and commitment.
Both teachers and nurse practitioners need to be understanding and compassionate. When people come into contact with nurse practitioners, they are often experiencing pain or physical problems. Practitioners treat many types of problems, so effective treatment often starts with an ability to understand exactly what a patient is experiencing. Teachers also need to be compassionate and understanding. Students who are learning new skills sometimes find it difficult and need someone who understands their struggles. If teachers can be understanding and compassionate, they can isolate the sources of problems in understanding the material being studied, and will encourage their pupils to work hard.
Patients aren't always able to easily express health concerns, and often have a considerable number of questions about an injury or illness, or about medications and treatments. For nurse practitioners, patience with patients is crucial to the health care relationship and helping patients toward wellness. Teachers are also confronted with many questions, and deal regularly with the fact that all students simply don't learn at the same rate. Sometimes a new concept in a specific subject, such as math or science, can be difficult for students to grasp. When it's necessary to go over a point many times, or from creatively different angles, patience can be a teacher's most valued quality.
Both teachers and nurse practitioners need to be sympathetic to needs, but encouraging at the same time. In cases where it's difficult for patients to recover quickly or for pupils to learn, sometimes the thing most needed is a sympathetic listener. Sympathy, though, is not an end in itself; it should lead to encouragement to overcome obstacles and difficulties. One of the great benefits a nurse practitioner can be to patients is to encourage wellness programs as preventative health care. As for teachers, according to Barbara Gross Davis, a lecturer at the University of California, encouraging students to do well inspires them to become self-motivated independent and successful learners.