Nurses' self-reflection via videotaping to improve communication skills in health counseling

The purpose of this qualitative research was to describe nurses' opinions of their communication skills in health counseling situations and to analyze the levels of reflectivity in their evaluations according to Mezirow. Nineteen nurses participated in the research on a voluntary basis and evaluated their interaction with patients on video on two occasions half a year apart. Nurses gave verbal feedback in an interview immediately after videotaping, after which they read education materials, watched their counseling on video and wrote an evaluation of their communication skills. Transcribed audiotaped interviews and written evaluations were analyzed using content analysis. Nurses said that they were able to use familiar language, to listen and to encourage patients to express their feelings and ask questions. Nurses gave little feedback on nonverbal communication. They wanted to develop their listening skills and their ability to encourage patients to ask and express their feelings. They also wanted to improve their preparations for counseling sessions. On Mezirow's scale, nurses' evaluations weighted heavily towards the lower levels of reflectivity. Only one nurse's evaluations were on the sixth level and no evaluations were on the seventh level. The results indicated a need for training programs dealig with communication skills and self-reflection. Using the videotape and self-reflection were found to be good methods to enhance the quality of health counseling.