Nursing students' communication attitudes: the effectiveness of an educational intervention and clinical-internships

Introduction Effective Communication is of paramount importance for nursing students, and having positive attitudes towards learning can result in the achievement of effective communication skills. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a specific communication educational course and an experience of clinical internship on the nursing students’ attitudes toward effective communication. Methods A before-after study design was used. We evaluated communication attitude using the Italian version of the Communication skills Attitude Scale (I-CSAS). The scale was submitted before starting a new Communication Skills educational intervention (T0), one month after the end of the intervention (T1), and after the clinical internship (T2). Results The Positive Attitude Scale (PAS) was 53.9 ± 5.3 at T0, while the Negative Attitude Scale (NAS) was 26.9 ± 5.0. PAS scores increased one month after the educational intervention (T1) (Me = 55.8 ± 5.1, p=.058) and after the internship experience (T2) (57.2 ± 4.5, p=1.243), while the NAS's average scores decreased (24.0 ± 4.5 at T1, p= .0002, and 23.5 ± 3.7 at T2, p=.1120). Conclusions Our results suggest that a structured educational intervention is able to significantly improve student attitudes and that subsequent clinical training helps to consolidate the levels achieved.