An online communication skills training program for nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Communication
• Professional Development

Background:

• High turnover rates among newly graduated nurses in South Korea (45.5% within one year in 2019).
• Need for effective strategies to support nursing students' transition into practice.
• Importance of communication skills in nursing for patient care and job satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an online communication skills training program based on nonviolent communication.
• To assess the program's impact on nursing students' empathy, communication skills, anger, and self-efficacy.
• To explore a potential solution for improving newly graduated nurse retention.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental design with an experimental group (n=28) and a control group (n=27).
• Fourth-year nursing students from two universities in South Korea participated.
• Online nonviolent communication training was delivered to the experimental group.
• Assessed empathy, communication skills, anger, and self-efficacy pre- and post-training using statistical tests (χ2, Fisher's exact, independent t-test).

Main Results:

• The experimental group demonstrated significantly higher levels of empathy, communication skills, and self-efficacy post-training compared to the control group.
• No significant differences in anger levels were observed between the groups.
• The online nonviolent communication training was effective in enhancing key professional attributes.

Conclusions:

• The online nonviolent communication training program is effective for nursing students.
• Implementing this program for graduating nursing students may help reduce early career turnover.
• This intervention offers a promising approach to enhance nurse retention and support the nursing workforce.