الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 117 |  |  |
| | | from | 117 | | |
Abstract
Nursing education field is responsible for preparing competent nursing students by
providing them with knowledge and helping them develop soft skills for their vital roles in
clinical practice such as the roles of caregivers, planners, coordinators, facilitators, counselors,
leaders, advocates, researchers and health educators. These soft skills like communication,
emotional intelligence, teamwork, problem solving, time management, critical thinking,
decision-making, stress management, conflict resolution and leadership skills are necessary in
order to meet the demands of the nursing workforce. Moreover, nursing students must be
academically and professionally prepared to be able to integrate emotional intelligence and
communication skills into clinical practice for effective designing, transferring and persuading
of health education messages.
The aims of this study:
- Assessing emotional intelligence skills levels among nursing students during the
conduction of health education.
- Assessing communication skills levels among nursing students during the conduction
of health education.
- Determining the relationship between both variables among nursing students during the
conduction of health education.
Research Questions
- What are the emotional intelligence skills levels among nursing students during
conduction of health education?
- What are the communication skills levels among nursing students during conduction of
health education?
- What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and communication skills
among nursing students during conduction of health education?
Research design:
Descriptive correlational research design was followed in the present study.
Setting:
The study was carried out in different community health nursing clinical settings. These
settings provide chance to nursing students to take experience from different clinical settings.
These were the enrollment areas of clinical practice for community health nursing course at
Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. Health education sessions and community
nursing care were provided in 5 main settings: family’s health services (centers & units),
school-based settings, occupational health settings, ambulatory settings (outpatients’ clinics
such as skin and diabetic clinic) and community-based health awareness conveys (health
convoys, health campaign).
Subjects:
The subjects of the present study were 210 nursing students who were enrolled in the
fourth academic level and had their clinical training at Community Health Nursing Department,
Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt during the academic year 2021-2022. To
ensure that all nursing students attending the same communication skills course and human
relation as prerequisite for the community health nursing and passing through the same clinical
experience in their academic years.
Two tools were used in this study for data collection
Tool I: Communication Skills Observational Checklist (CSOC):(Appendix I)
This tool was developed by Bayer-Fetzer (2001). It was modified by Fathi, (2011). It was
adapted by the researcher, clarification of all statements with examples, add some criteria to
decrease subjectivity and facilitate score and scoring system ranged into three level only to be
congruent with the study aims to assess community-nursing students’ communication skills
during the conduction of health education.
Tool II: Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQueSF): (Appendix
II)
This tool was developed by Petrides & Furnham,(2001). It is a self-reported
questionnaire. This tool was adapted by the researchers, translated into Arabic language to be
congruent with the study aims, to assess the levels of emotional intelligence among
undergraduate community nursing students during the conduction of health education.
Method
- A permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee
at Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. Appendix III
- An official permission to conduct the study was obtained from the head of Community
Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt and the
responsible authorities of each clinical setting after explaining the purpose of the study.
- The tools were submitted to a jury of seven experts from faculty members in different
nursing departments (Nursing Education, Community Health Nursing and Psychiatric
Nursing) to be tested for their face and content validity and accordingly the necessary
modifications were done. Appendix IV
- The tools were statistically tested for their reliability using Cronbach Alpha Coefficient
statistical test. Tool I, R=0.876 and Tool II, R=0.799 which indicated high reliability.
- A pilot study was carried out on 21 nursing students representing (10% of total sample)
before starting the data collection. These students were excluded from the study sample,
to test the tool’s clarity and applicability, all needed modifications were done.
Data collection:
- At the beginning of each clinical rotation, the researcher introduced herself to the study
subjects. The researcher explained the overall aim of the study to grasp student’s
attention, increase their cooperation and obtain the required informed consents.
- The researcher directly observed the nursing students without causing any sessions
interruption, on individualized base, for their communication skills during the
conduction of health education sessions at the clinical training settings using tool I. The
observational method took about 20-30 minutes/ each nursing student and the researcher
observed 5-6 students/day.
- Immediately after the session, the researcher provided the self-reported emotional
intelligence questionnaire (Tool II) to the nursing student participant.
- The data was collected during the academic year 2021-2022 over a period of six months
starting from November 2021 to April 2022.
- The collected data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences computer
software (SPSS for Mac, Version 28.0; IBM, 2019).
The main findings revealed from the study:
Part I: Study subjects’ socio-demographic characteristics and their academic data.
More than two thirds of the study subjects were aged from 20 to less than 22, about two-thirds
of the studied nursing students were females. The vast majority of the study subjects lived in
urban areas and almost all of the participants were single. In relation to last GPA, it can be
noticed that more than one-half of the study subjects had very good grades. As regards work
status while studying, about two fifths of them were working and the majority of those working
students worked at nursing field. Besides, more than one-half of the study subjects did not
attend any courses or programs about EI and CS.
Part II: Study subjects’ emotional intelligence skills scores during conduction of
health education
About three quarters (74.8%) of the study subjects had moderate level of EI scores which
clearly is proved by their responses in all EI dimensions, with mean scores in between
(3.26±0.547 to 3.58±0.629 respectively), concerning all scale dimensions: wellbeing, selfcontrol,
emotionality, and sociability. In relation to total EI skills scores, the mean score was
(3.42±0.415).
Part III: Study subjects’ communication skills scores during conduction of health
education
The total mean score for all CS checklist dimensions is 3.19± 0.54, which generally
denotes that near two-thirds (61.9%) of nursing students had moderate CS scores during health
education.
Part IV: Relationship between study subjects’ socio-demographic characteristics,
their emotional intelligence skills scores and communication skills scores during
conduction of health education.
- There was a high statistically significant relationship between EI score and some aspects
of study subjects’ socio-demographic and academic data which were sex, work status
while studying and attendance of any practical courses or programs about
communication skills, (P= (0.039, 0.037, 0.0024) respectively.
- There was high statistically significant relationship between CS score and some aspects
of study subjects’ socio-demographic and academic data which were clinical rotation
and work status while studying, (P= (0.000, 0.014) respectively.
Part V: Relationship between study subjects’ emotional intelligence skills and their
communication skills scores during conduction of health education
There was a statistically significant positive (parallel) relationship between study
subjects’ EI skills scores and their CS scores, (P<0.036). Moreover, means in both study
variables EI & CS being in similar levels and with similar values.
Conclusion:
Soft skills are key elements for nursing students to convey caring attributes during the
conduction of health education. Both emotional intelligence and communication skills are soft
skills that affect nurse-patient interactions and relationships. The result of the study found that
community-nursing students had moderate level of EI concerning all EI dimensions: wellbeing,
self-control, emotionality, and sociability. Besides, they also had moderate level of CS in
general. As a result, there was a significant Positive, strong and parallel relationship between
study subjects’ EI skills scores and their CS scores. (P<0.036). The mean scores of EI and CS
were in similar levels and more or less with similar values so if the mean score of emotional
intelligence increase, the mean score of communication skills will increase and vice versa.
In addition, both emotional intelligence and communication skills assist nursing students
in health education since they help nursing students perform their duties successfully, establish
a desired bond with clients and better adapt in different clinical settings. Moreover, emotional
intelligence plays a vital role in therapeutic communication and vice versa.
In light of the current study findings, the following recommendations could be suggested:
Emotional intelligence concept should be integrated early at the first level into the
nursing curriculum to improve nursing students’ abilities to deal with any difficult
situations.
Educational workshops should be conducted for clinical nurse educators about soft
skills such as EI & CS to increase their competencies in applying these skills during
clinical practice.
Training on soft skills such as EI & CS should be conducted into routine clinical practice
for nursing students by using role-play and high fidelity simulation to decrease levels
of stress and anxiety that students face during clinical practice.
Recommendations for further studies:
Replication of this study using large probability sample in different nursing student’s
levels & specialties
The effect of implementing communication intervention program on nursing students’
communication skills.
Relationship between nursing students’ EI competencies and their self-efficacy.
Explore factors that affect the levels of emotional intelligence among nursing students.
Assessing nursing student’s perceptions of soft skills such as EI, CS and problem solving skills.
Assessing nurse educators’ emotional intelligence level and stress management
strategies during clinical teaching.
Relationship between nurse educators’ emotional intelligence levels and nursing
students’ clinical performance, motivation and acquisition of caring behavior.
The impact of soft skills as EI &CS training on the student’s health education efficacy.