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 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 = 0.058) 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 = 0.0002, and 23.5 ± 3.7 at T2, p = 0.1120). Conclusions: Our results suggest that a structured educational intervention can significantly improve student attitudes, and that subsequent clinical training helps to consolidate the levels achieved.