Responding empathically to patients: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a communication skills training module for oncology nurses Journal Article
| Authors: | Pehrson, C.; Banerjee, S. C.; Manna, R.; Shen, M. J.; Hammonds, S.; Coyle, N.; Krueger, C. A.; Maloney, E.; Zaider, T.; Bylund, C. L. |
| Article Title: | Responding empathically to patients: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a communication skills training module for oncology nurses |
| Abstract: | Objective: The purpose of this paper is to report on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Communication Skills Training (CST) module for inpatient oncology nurses on how to respond empathically to patients. Methods: 248 nurses from a USA cancer center participated in a CST module on responding empathically to patients. Nurses completed pre- and post-training Standardized Patient Assessments (SPAs), a survey on their confidence in and intent to utilize skills taught, and a six-month post-training survey of self-reported use of skills. Results: Results indicate that nurses were satisfied with the module, reporting that agreement or strong agreement to 5 out of 6 items assessing satisfaction 96.7%-98.0% of the time. Nurses' self-efficacy in responding empathically significantly increased pre- to post-training. Additionally, nurses showed empathy skill improvement in the post-SPAs. Finally, 88.2% of nurses reported feeling confident in using the skills they learned post-training and reported an increase of 42-63% in the use of specific empathic skills. Conclusions: A CST module for nurses in responding empathically to patients showed feasibility, acceptability, and improvement in self-efficacy as well as skill uptake. Practice implications: This CST module provides an easily targeted intervention for improving nurse-patient communication and patient-centered care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract). |
| Keywords: | empathy; communication skills training; healthcare communication; nurse-patient communication |
| Journal Title: | Patient Education and Counseling |
| Volume: | 99 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| ISSN: | 0738-3991 |
| Publisher: | Elsevier Ireland Ltd. |
| Date Published: | 2016-04-01 |
| Start Page: | 610 |
| End Page: | 616 |
| Language: | English |
| ACCESSION: | Peer Reviewed Journal: 2015-56303-001 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.pec.2015.11.021 |
| PROVIDER: | Ovid Technologies |
| PROVIDER: | psycinfo |
| PMCID: | PMC4962546 |
| PUBMED: | 26686992 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | References -- Source: PsycINFO |
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