Advancing Patient-Centered Communication Content for Prelicensure Nursing Students Using StudentSPEACS: A...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Communication
• Patient Care

Background:

• Communication disorders pose significant challenges in healthcare interactions.
• Nurses often lack adequate training to effectively communicate with patients with communication impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the StudentSPEACS program for prelicensure nursing students.
• To document how students apply communication strategies learned in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Mixed methods approach utilized to evaluate student perceptions and clinical application.
• Survey data collected from junior nursing students (n=86).

Main Results:

• Students found the StudentSPEACS content highly valuable.
• Post-training, students reported average overall communication ability with patients.
• Students documented 48 examples of applying learned skills in clinical cases.

Conclusions:

• The StudentSPEACS program is a viable method for improving nursing students' communication skills.
• Prelicensure nursing students can acquire and practice essential communication techniques for patients with impairments.