Enhancing effective interpersonal interactions through soft skills: perceptions of nurse educators

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Soft Skills Training

Background:

• Student nurses require strong soft skills for complex interpersonal interactions.
• Nursing education prioritizes hard skills over soft skills, impacting healthcare success.
• Soft skills are vital for effective healthcare establishments and nurse performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nurse educators' perceptions of soft skills for effective interpersonal interactions.
• To describe the role of soft skills in nursing education.
• To develop recommendations for integrating soft skills into nursing curricula.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual research design.
• Purposive sampling of 12 nurse educators in Johannesburg.
• Online semi-structured individual interviews analyzed using Tesch's open coding method.

Main Results:

• Nurse educators perceive soft skills teaching as enhancing personal capacity for interaction.
• Five key themes emerged: effective communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking.
• Soft skills are seen as crucial for improving interpersonal dynamics in healthcare.

Conclusions:

• Integrating soft skills into nursing education is essential.
• Graduates prepared with soft skills can foster better interpersonal interactions.
• Enhanced soft skills contribute to improved patient care and professional relationships.