Achieving 'parity of esteem': how educators can enhance the teaching and assessment of communication skills

The commitment to give equal priority to mental and physical health (parity of esteem) guides the Nursing and Midwifery Council's Future Nurse Standards of Proficiency - a generic set of standards for nurse education. However, a recent national survey revealed that nursing students reported that the specific communication skills needed to address mental health problems are missing from practice assessments. This article reviews the current use of practice assessment documentation in which communication and relationship management skills are interpreted as 'professional values' rather than explicit mandatory skills. The proposal is to use appropriate sections of the University College London Competence Frameworks for the Delivery of Effective Psychological Interventions to enhance the teaching and assessment of communication skills across the fields of nursing. These validated, evidence-based competencies could help to contextualise specific communication skills and techniques, making them more explicit and tangible for both students and assessors.