Exploring the development of non-technical skills in pre-registration nursing students: A qualitative descriptive...

Non-technical skills, such as communication, teamwork, empathy, and emotional intelligence are critical for safe and effective nursing practice. While current nursing education tends to emphasize technical skills, the nuanced development of non-technical skills-particularly how they are shaped by personal experiences, low-fidelity simulation, and their interplay with technical skills-remains underexplored.

To explore pre-registration nursing students' experiences in developing and applying non-technical skills within clinical and educational contexts.

A qualitative descriptive study.

A large Australian university offering pre-registration nursing programmes.

Eight pre-registration nursing students (Bachelor and Master levels) with clinical placement experience.

Data were collected through two focus groups (one face-to-face, one virtual) using a semi-structured interview guide. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied to identify patterns in non-technical skills development.

Three key insights emerged: (1) Personal life experiences-including prior healthcare roles, volunteering, and non-clinical work-significantly shape how students understand and apply non-technical skills, suggesting a valuable but underrecognized learning pathway; (2) Low-fidelity simulations, while accessible, provide limited opportunities for developing the emotional and interpersonal dimensions of non-technical skills, raising concerns about their educational efficacy; (3) non-technical skills are not separate from technical skills but actively support their application, with strong communication and emotional regulation skills enhancing the effectiveness and safety of technical procedures.

Nursing education should intentionally integrate students' lived experiences into the development of NTS, explicitly teach emotional intelligence as a core component of non-technical competency, and design simulations that foster emotional realism. Recognising the interdependence between NTS and TS will better prepare students for the emotional and relational complexity of real-world nursing practice, ultimately enhancing resilience, adaptability, and humanistic care.