Impact of Socio-Emotional Skills On The Performance of Clinical Nursing Practices

Development and psychometric testing of the non-technical skills scale in medical and surgical hospital units for nursing students

OBJECTIVE

To develop and validate a tool to assess the non-technical skills of medical and surgical hospital units undergraduate nursing students.

BACKGROUND

In the area of healthcare, non-technical skills complement technical ones, and contribute to patient safety. High-fidelity simulation is an ideal resource for working on these skills. Thus, evaluation instruments are needed to understand the efficiency of this methodology. Although many evaluation instruments already exist, none measure non-technical skills of undergraduate nursing students in medical and surgical hospital units.

DESIGN

An instrumental study design was employed.

METHODS

Two-phases were used to develop and validate the scale: 1) Scale development. A group of experts defined the dimensions and components. Afterwards, the content was validated by experts, and a pilot study was conducted with undergraduate Nursing students. 2) Analysis of the psychometric properties of the scale. A total of 393 students were evaluated in high-fidelity simulation scenarios by three evaluators, through the use of the Non-Technical Skills in Medical and Surgical Hospital Units (NTS-Nursing) Scale.

RESULTS

The content validity indexes were adequate for the total of the items and the total of the scale. The statistical descriptors of the items, the internal structure, and the reliability (internal consistency and inter-evaluator reliability) were analyzed, as well as the external evidence of validity, with adequate values obtained.

CONCLUSION

The NTS-Nursing scale is a valid and reliable instrument. Its structure of 10 items makes its use fast and easy.

Effect of a Multistage Educational Skill-Based Program on Nurse's Stress and Anxiety in the Intensive Care Setting: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Psychological problems such as stress and anxiety are prevalent among working nurses in the intensive care units (ICUs). This study was aimed at investigating the effects of three skill-based educational programs on stress and anxiety among critical care nurses.

Methods

Using a randomized controlled trial, 160 nurses were assigned to four groups including one control and three intervention groups. A standard skill-based educational program was delivered to three intervention groups using booklet, booklet+oral presentation, and booklet+oral presentation+clinical teaching over a period of one month to reduce different types of stress and anxiety. The control group received routine education only. Perceived stress, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and work-related stress were assessed at baseline and three times after the intervention (15 days, 3 months, and 21 months). Repeated-measure analysis of variance was used for data analysis.

Results

There was no significant change in the control group in terms of study variables during follow-up assessments, whereas measures of stress and anxiety were reduced after intervention in the trial groups except trait anxiety. Nurses in the mixed-method group (booklet+oral presentation+clinical teaching) showed less stress and anxiety during follow-ups. Although the stress and anxiety scores decreased in the first and second follow-ups, there was no significant reduction in the third follow-up.

Conclusions

To improve the mental health and performance of the intensive care unit nurses, knowledge-based and skill-based training programs seem useful. Continuous training may help to maintain the effectiveness of these programs over time.