BSN Professional Attributes
As part of the Orvis School of Nursing application, you may be asked to answer a video question and two written questions about your life experiences and/or attributes. The Reflection Worksheet below provides a structured way to keep track of your experiences and gives you the opportunity to reflect on how the experience was transformative for you, your impact while engaging in the activity and the personal growth you experienced because of your participation.
Use the Reflection Worksheet to think about which attributes you gained experience in and how you developed or demonstrated these attributes through your experience. In your video or written response, you will be asked questions and the work you put into these worksheets can be used as a guide to help you recall moments where you demonstrated these attributes. You might demonstrate multiple attributes through several experiences and keeping a log of them is helpful to prepare for your nursing school application.
- Empathy and compassion definition: Recognizes, understands and acknowledges others’ experiences, feelings, perspectives and reactions to situations; is sensitive to others’ needs and feelings; and demonstrates a desire to help others and alleviate others’ distress.
- Service orientation definition: Shows a commitment to something larger than oneself; demonstrates dedication to service and a commitment to making meaningful contributions that meets the needs of communities.
- Commitment to learning and growth definition: Practices continuous personal and professional growth for improvement, including setting and communicating goals for learning and development; reflects on successes, challenges and mistakes; pursues opportunities to improve knowledge and understanding; and asks for and incorporates feedback to learn and grow.
- Cultural awareness definition: Appreciates how historical, sociocultural, political and economic factors affect others’ interactions, behaviors and well-being; values diversity; and demonstrates a desire to learn about different cultures, beliefs and values.
- Cultural humility definition: Seeks out and engages diverse and divergent perspectives with a desire to understand and willingness to adjust one’s mindset; understands a situation or idea from alternative viewpoints; reflects on one’s values, beliefs and identities and how they may affect others; reflects on and addresses bias in oneself and others; and fosters a supportive environment that values inclusivity.
- Critical thinking definition: Uses logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Resilience and adaptability definition: Perseveres in challenging, stressful or ambiguous environments or situations by adjusting behavior or approach in response to new information, changing conditions or unexpected obstacles, and recognizes and sees help and support when needed; recovers from and reflects on setbacks; and balances personal well-being with responsibilities.
- Interpersonal skills definition: Demonstrates an awareness of how social and behavioral cues affect people’s interactions and behaviors; adjusts behaviors appropriately in response to these cues; recognizes and manages one’s emotions and understands how emotions impact others or a situation; and treats others with dignity, courtesy and respect.
- Reliability and dependability definition: Demonstrates accountability for performance and responsibilities to self and others; prioritizes and fulfills obligations in a timely and satisfactory manner; and understands consequences of not fulfilling one’s responsibilities to self and others.
- Teamwork and collaboration definition: Collaborates with others to achieve shared goals and prioritizes shared goals; adjusts role between team member and leader based on one’s own and others’ expertise and experience; shares information with team members and encourages this behavior in others; and gives and accepts feedback to improve team performance.
- Ethical responsibility to self and others definition: Behaves with honesty and integrity; considers multiple and/or conflicting principles and values to inform decisions; and adheres to ethical principles when carrying out professional obligations; resists pressure to engage in unethical behavior; and encourages others to behave honestly and ethically.
- Oral communication definition: Effectively conveys information to others using spoken words and sentences; actively listens to understand the meaning and intent behind what others say and recognizes potential communication barriers and adjusts approach or clarifies information needed.
- Written communication definition: Effectively conveys information to others by using written words and sentences.