A training program in empathic communication skills for nursing students was designed and evaluated. Data from 13 nursing students in the trained group and nine control group students were compared. The subjects had completed videotaped roleplays with programmed roleplayers pre- and post-training. The roleplayers presented situations involving various instances of loss. Three types of dependent measures were obtained. The first was an instrument developed for the present study called the Interpersonal Behavior Rating Scale (IBRS), a checklist of 29 items conceptualized in six subscales. The scale was designed to measure perceived empathic communication, perceived nurse comfort, and projected patient satisfaction. Second, frequencies of three nonverbal behaviors were obtained: eye contact, forward trunk lean, and open position body orientation. The third measure was a post-training questionnaire administered to the trained nursing students which asked them to (1) rate their own improvement in various skill areas in the training program, (2) rank the various course components, and (3) rate the value of this sort of training for nursing students in general. Results obtained indicated that following training, the trained group improved in its level of empathic communication as measured by the IBRS and was superior to the control group. No group differences were found in the nonverbal behaviors following training. Expected improvements in relationships between the frequencies of the nonverbal behaviors and empathy, comfort, and satisfaction, as measured by the IBRS, were not obtained. The nursing students' questionnaire responses indicated that they perceived themselves as having improved in their communication skills and in their ability to talk about patients' experience of loss. They also rated the value of the program very highly. Explanations for rejected / hypotheses are discussed. The overall effectiveness of the training program in improving empathic communication skills is supported. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-01, Section: B, page: 0311. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75510 |
| Contributors | PERRIN, PATRICIA MARY., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 205 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0098 seconds