Communication self-efficacy and communication apprehension in a national sample of undergraduate nursing students: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy in undergraduate nursing students and identify factors that contribute to communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy. BACKGROUND: Communication education and skills training is often incorporated into undergraduate nursing curricula; however, communication competence continues to be a problem for novice nurses. Communication apprehension is a concept that has been only minimally researched in nursing education and can have a negative impact on student communication readiness. DESIGN: This study employed a cross-sectional design and surveyed a national sample of undergraduate nursing students between October 2022 and March 2023. METHODS: An online survey was sent out to undergraduate nursing student members of the National Student Nurses Association as well as nursing education programs in 8 states and the District of Columbia. The survey was comprised of demographic questions, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, and the communication subscale of the Nursing Student Self-Efficacy Survey. RESULTS: Approximately 22.1 % of the students had high communication apprehension, with the highest communication apprehension in public speaking and classroom communication. Communication self-efficacy scores ranged from 12 to 40, with a mean of 31.65 (SD = 6.28). Communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy were significantly negatively correlated. Positive and negative affect were significant predictors of communication apprehension. Affect, as well as current healthcare employment were significant predictors of communication self-efficacy. When controlling for all demographic, educational, and psychological variables, communication apprehension was a significant predictor of communication self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: This study is one of the few to explore communication apprehension in undergraduate nursing students. Data demonstrated that communication apprehension is a prevalent problem for many nursing students. Communication apprehension was also found to be a significant predictor of communication self-efficacy after controlling for all other variables. Progression through nursing education did not show a correlation with a decrease in the students' communication apprehension or increase in communication self-efficacy. Given these findings, educational efforts aimed at reducing communication apprehension and enhancing students' school-related affect could contribute to an improvement in communication self-efficacy.

Exploring communication apprehension in nursing and healthcare education: A scoping review.

Communication among healthcare professionals is critical to optimizing patient outcomes, and communication education is incorporated into the educational programs of healthcare professions students. Communication can be a source of stress for new healthcare professionals, however, there is a lack of research on communication apprehension (CA) in healthcare students, especially in nursing education. This scoping review sought to explore CA and factors associated with CA among healthcare professions students. This scoping review report was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2018, 169, 467-473). Twenty studies of healthcare professions students were included for analysis. The percentage of health professions students with high CA ranged from 0.7% to 27%. Five out of seven intervention studies demonstrated a significant decrease in CA after the intervention. This review identified inconsistent associations between CA and various individual and educational factors. More research is needed utilizing rigorous research designs, designs employing qualitative methodology, and studies to investigate the impact of language on CA in health professions students who speak English as a second language.