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Nurses are required to maintain their hard skills. Hard skills are the clinical skills learned during formal education and confirmed by passing an examination to receive a license to practice. Employers and other professional organizations    

offer ample opportunities for hard skill improvement and sustainment.

 Interpersonal skills also known as people skills are soft skills. The importance of soft skills is revealed during the investigation into the root causes of a healthcare failure or negative outcome. Rarely are the root causes for a healthcare failure related to a systemic problem with hard skills or clinical knowledge. If a hard skill problem or lack of   

clinical knowledge is uncovered, it's usually specific and correctable with additional education. 

But soft skills, such as poor communication and ineffective teamwork, are commonly discovered during the root causes analysis portion of an investigation after a healthcare failure occurs. The identified soft skill failures are often systemic and widespread. Although there are trainings and programs available, most employers expect staff will gain soft skills through professional interactions and experiences. Members of CLN, Inc are blessed with training opportunities to help them be

better teammates, communicators, neighbors, nurses and better Christians.

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