Soft skills education and training across the nursing continuum: A scoping review

Soft skills are essential for safe and effective nursing practice, supporting communication, collaboration, and professional judgment in complex care settings. Despite their importance, new graduate nurses often struggle with core soft skills, highlighting a persistent gap between education and clinical demands. This scoping review maps current evidence on soft skills education and training for nursing students and nurses, focusing on core concepts, teaching approaches, and evaluation methods.

This scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA Scoping Review guidelines.

Five databases-MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO-were searched for studies published 2015-2025.

Eligible studies used experimental designs to deliver soft skill-focused education or training to nursing students or nurses. Data extraction followed the TIDieR checklist, and soft skills were classified using an adapted version of Song et al.'s framework.

Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria; most involved nursing students and quasi-experimental designs. Effective Interaction and Professionalism were the most frequently addressed skill domains. Student-focused programs emphasized interpersonal and cognitive skills, whereas nurse programs concentrated on preparedness, work management, and teamwork. Traditional lectures predominated, while participatory and emerging approaches such as virtual reality, escape rooms, and game-based learning were less common. Nurse training was typically single-session, whereas student programs were more longitudinal. Most studies relied on self-report measures and included limited follow-up.

A distinctive pattern emerged between students and nurses, suggesting that student-focused programs tend to emphasize foundational interpersonal skills while nurse-focused interventions are more likely to address clinically integrated competencies. This gap underscores the need to better align nursing curricula with real-world competency requirements. Educational programs on soft skills should incorporate active, learner-centered teaching strategies, rigorous evaluation methods with long-term follow-up, and validated assessment tools to better prepare nurses for contemporary healthcare demands.