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Mental Ability of an Individual!
Mental ability is manifested through intelligent behaviour of an individual. The individual with normal intellectual ability will have the capacities as observing, understanding, learning, thinking, remembering and dealing with situations effectively.
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Accurate perception of a situation requires good attention and observation.
Thinking in a right direction is the characteristic of intelligence. A person who has good mental ability only can deal effectively with a situation through a purposeful behaviour.
The definitions given by different psychologists emphasize the following features of mental ability:
a. Intelligence is an innate ability
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b. Intelligence is influenced by both heredity and environment
c. It includes the capacity to think rationally
d. It helps to adapt to a situation quickly and correctly
e. It includes higher mental processes like reasoning, problem solving and creative thinking
f. The capacity to observe the inner relationships among different situations and stimuli
g. It also helps to understand the absurdities in situations and to avoid them tactfully.
An intelligent nurse can show her efficiency in working. She can perceive the situation accurately. For example, general condition of a patient. She can take suitable decisions regarding the care of a patient.
At times, during emergencies she may have to take decisions independently before the arrival of “a doctor. In this way, to manage her regular ward activities, attending to patients in different conditions, management of emergencies and critical situations with patients, relatives of patients and other staff members, the nurse can make use of her mental abilities.