As a nursing student, I know that I am going to be interacting with people of all backgrounds. I will be handling patients of all ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and mentalities. It is important for me to have the social skills to personally get to know each and every one of them. This sociology course has introduced me to many social issues I had never even considered, and has prepared me to interact with them in an educated and appropriate manner. I feel like I will be able to reach common ground with all of my patients.

The most important thing this course has taught me is to be open-minded. I have been exposed to differences in political, social, and economic views and I have begun to understand each view point more wholly. I feel as if I am able to see situations from different perspectives, and even though I do not always agree with them, I can understand them unbiasedly. I also feel like I have a better understanding of morality. Being a nurse is based on this principle of always doing what is best for the patient’s health, and even though I knew that before, I feel more empathetic in those situations. I feel like I have a human connection with each individual patient.

I also find myself looking for nonverbal clues during conversation. Things like posture, hand movements, and facial expressions pop out to me when I talk with people. This has actually become a valuable skill in helping me decipher social cues, and I plan to use it in my nursing profession as well. Being able to communicate clearly and effectively and understand what the patient and their family really need is a vital part of my job. Good communication is really the key to making the most of my profession.