Effect of online communication skills training on effective communication and self-efficacy and self-regulated learning skills of nursing students: A randomized controlled study

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of online communication skills training conducted for first -year nursing students on effective communication and self-efficacy and self-regulated learning skills. Background: Communication skills are an important part of nursing care. Methods: This research was designed as a pre-test-post-test randomized controlled experimental study. The study population comprised first-year undergraduate nursing students of a state university in Turkey. A total of 60 students included in the study were divided into the two following groups: experimental (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. The research data were collected between 1 December 2020 and 1 March 2021. Pre-test and post-test forms were simultaneously provided to the groups. Post-tests were repeated 1 month after the pre-test was completed. A 2-day (a total of 12 h) communication skills training was conducted online for the students in the experimental group after the pre-test forms were filled. Information form, Effective Communication Skills Scale (ECSS), General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE) and Self-regulated Learning Skills Scale (SRLSS) were used to collect the data. Results: The effective communication and SRLSS mean scores of the nursing students were high and the GSE scores were below average. On comparing the groups, the post-test mean scores of the communication skills and GSE were found to decrease in both the groups compared with the pre-test ones. This decrease was significant only in the "ego-enhancing language " subdimension of ECSS (p < 0.05). The post-test mean scores of the SRLSS increased in both the groups, but this increase was not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Although the SRLSS scores of the students increased in the post-test, the study results show that communication skills training did not have a significant effect on effective communication and self-efficacy and self-regulated learning skills. The results of this study are important in terms of guiding research and trainings that examine the effects of communication skills.