Professional Standards and Characteristics of Health Care Workers

Looking Professional

Proper Hygiene Clean hair Brush and floss teeth Bathe daily Use unscented deodorant Wear hair up Keep short nails

Proper Dress Clothes neat, clean, in good repair No extreme fashion No undergarments showing Keep jewelry to a minimum Wear name badge Wear appropriate shoes

Appropriate

Inappropriate

Honesty A health care worker needs to be honest. Many of these careers deal with very confidential information about their patients (clients). It is important to be trusted with such information on a need-to-know basis and not share with others.

Honesty An employer should expect that an employee bill patients appropriately and not for things they did not receive. An employee should not use the institutions things for personal use. The employee should be truthful and work their full shift, being especially careful of lunch and break times.

Empathy A health care worker needs to develop empathy. This is the ability to relate to another person’s situation (putting yourself in someone else’s shoes) without feeling sorry for them.

Dependability Dependability is another important characteristic. The employee must be reliable

Life-Long Learning It isn’t enough to learn information only to pass the tests and obtain your degree, but health care workers need to always be learning new information, skills, and technology so they can offer the best care possible to their patients.

Teamwork One needs to have the ability to work in groups. The team is needed to take care of patients. The environmental team cleans the room; the doctors direct patient care; the nurses administer medications and do dressing changes; physical therapy helps the patient to walk; respiratory therapy helps the patient to breathe; phlebotomy draws the blood for tests done by clinical lab scientists; and so forth.

Remember you only have a few seconds to make a good first impression. Conclusion Remember you only have a few seconds to make a good first impression.