Integrating psychology with interpersonal communication skills in undergraduate nursing education: Addressing the challenges

Changes in emotional intelligence of university students participating in psychological workshops and their predictors

The aim of this study was to determine changes in the emotional intelligence of university students who participated in psychological workshops and their predictors. The examinations were organized within a quasi-experimental design that evaluated pretest-posttest values of emotional intelligence. The intervention, which adopted the form of psychological workshops, was aimed to improve the ability to control emotional states, modify cognitive patterns and expand the array of communicational behaviours. The study examined 30 university students of a physical education course aged 19 to 24 years. The study used the Popular Questionnaire of Emotional Intelligence, the Social Competence Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire and the Courtauld Emotional Scale. Significant increases in emotional intelligence were observed in students participating in the psychological workshops, although varied depending on its dimensions. The highest differentiation between the measurements was found for understanding of emotions, whereas the lowest - for empathy. Greater increases in emotional intelligence can be expected in young students, who are more willing to suppress depression and reveal lower social competencies and greater intensification of depression symptoms. Psychological workshops can be an effective method to improve emotional intelligence of university students who prepare to the profession of a physical education teacher or a coach.

The inclusion of cognitive behavioural therapeutic components in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. A systematic integrative review of the evidence

BACKGROUND

Despite the increasing evidence base for the use of cognitive behavioural interventions in nursing, the extent to which therapeutic interventions and their components are included in the undergraduate curriculum in Australia remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To explore if and how cognitive behavioural components are being taught to undergraduate nursing students to deliver outcome benefits to students and patients.

DESIGN

An integrative literature review reporting links between CBT components and methods taught in pre-registration nurse education.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

Based on an analysis of current literature, it is suggested that evidence-based cognitive behavioural components are being taught to undergraduate nursing students. The study reports that teaching cognitive behavioural components can bring clinical benefits to positive patient outcome, to student wellbeing and study performance. However, the teaching of cognitive behavioural conceptual models as a therapeutic skill was found to be limited. Recommendations to incorporate a simple, evidence based cognitive behavioural conceptual tool, highlights how nurse educators can address the requirement to teach from the current evidence base.

Including Communication in the Nursing Classroom: A Content Analysis of Communication Competence and Interprofessional Communication in Nursing Fundamentals Textbooks

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing identifies communication as one the four core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice and teaches communication to nursing students across the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine how communication is presented in nursing fundamentals textbooks. Grounded in communication in the disciplines (CID) framework, communication was primarily presented using the interactive model, with an emphasis on nonverbal and affective communication. All the communication competencies were covered in the textbooks, with active listening featured prominently and feedback and appropriate language choice covered least. Communication competence was also featured in the textbooks, with an emphasis on knowledge. Skills was limited to multiple choice questions and motivation was absent from the textbooks. The findings offer insight and recommendations for how to better prepare nursing students for communication interactions.

A unique program for nursing students to enhance their mentalization capabilities in relation to clinical thinking

While nurses strive to provide optimal patient-centered care, this is not always straightforward, as some cases are more emotionally charged than others - depending on the patient's mental, emotional, and physical state, and on the nurses themselves. Therefore, in order to provide accurate therapeutic responses while maintaining their own personal well-being, nurses must develop strong mentalization capabilities. We present a unique program for nursing students, specifically targeted at enhancing their mentalization abilities as part of their communication skills for dealing with emotionally charged situations. In the program, he students first learn to identify what leads them to experience increased emotional loads and how this affects their mentalization processes. Next, they learn alternative coping patterns for their benefit, enabling their own emotional regulation while providing optimal care for their patients. Conducted in small groups, this holistic four-year program is led by experienced clinical nurses and psychologists; the learning is based on actual experiences encountered by the students during their clinical experience.

Current teaching of psychology in undergraduate adult and comprehensive nursing curricula

The need for nurses to understand human behaviour in the context of effective caring has long been established; however, there is no consensus over the teaching and learning of psychology. Recent reported failures in compassionate care have prompted academics and clinicians to revisit this discussion and examine the challenges this poses to education. The author therefore recognises the need to take stock to see if we are any closer to answering the critical question of how to help students use psychology to understand themselves and the people they will be caring for. A literature review was conducted to examine current research and texts that address the teaching of psychology to undergraduate adult nursing students. The aim was to frame recent discussion in the context of current pre-registration education, rather than revisit the historic argument. Three common themes emerged from the review: the content of psychology taught; the methods of teaching psychology to nurses; and the application of psychological theory to nursing practice. These themes became the focus of further content analysis. A consensus is emerging from the traditionally opposed skills and theory camps that psychological literacy is essential to caring. Psychological content must not be diluted, neglected or eroded, and the essentials of this need to be defined and taught in a manner that is simple to understand and can be applied to real people. In undergraduate education, there is an increasing emphasis on structured reflection, which is used to forge links between student cognition, emotion and behaviour to reinforce theoretical psychological concepts. The similarities between models of reflection and cognitive behavioural psychological conceptualisation are a possible area for future investigation.

Communication skills in nursing: A phenomenologically-based communication training approach

The aim of this article is to present a communication skills training curriculum for nursing students, based upon phenomenology. Research shows that nurses have difficulty prioritizing dialogue with patients, due to lack of time, organizational and cultural factors. Like other health care professionals, nurses may also have difficulties communicating with patients due to personal fears and shortcomings. The communication training curriculum based upon phenomenology aims at systematically training students to stay focused upon patients' and relatives' narratives, allowing them to reflect upon and better understand their current situation. This approach to communication is applicable in any clinical situation where it important to provide space for the patients' experiences. The philosophical principles guiding the training are presented here as well as the practical steps in the program. Finally, the approach is compared to other common communication methods used in nursing (motivational interviewing, caring conversations, empathy training). The authors hope that the article will highlight the nurses' role as dialogue partner as well as emphasize the importance of communication skills training in nursing education. This approach can be refined, tested and modified in future research and may serve as an inspirational model for creating a generic communicative competence for nurses. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Changes and Predictors of the Sense of Meaning in Life in Polish University Students Participating in Psychological Workshops Communication-Forgiveness-Love

The aim of this study was to determine changes in the sense of meaning in life of university students who participated in psychological workshops "Communication-Forgiveness-Love". The study evaluated 33 university students from first-cycle and second-cycle studies in physical education in the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw. The Reker's Life Attitude Profile-Revised Questionnaire, Social Competencies Questionnaire (KKS) by Matczak, Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (INTE) by Schutte et al. and the Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire GHQ-28 were used. The study found that psychological workshops can be effective in instilling the sense of meaning in life in university students, especially those from first-cycle studies. The workshops can produce more benefits to students with worse mental status and with lower social competencies.

Are we Training Enough of Communication Skills and Patient Psychology Required in Dental Practice

The aim of this review is to discuss about lacunae in the areas of Communication skills and Patient psychology teaching in the dental set up in India. A literature search was performed using various databases and other resources. Data obtained was reviewed to obtain the work done in this field. It was found that there is currently no clear data in literature as to how much and how well students are taught about communication and behavioural skills and patient personality in dental curriculum in India. Pinpointing such lacunae can help dental colleges and universities to focus on the emphasis of their approaches to teaching about communication skills and psychology of the patient. Identification of future research area in this field is the need of the time for future discovery and progress in this overlooked field.