Understanding communication skills learning, behavior and attitude among students in three nursing colleges in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia

Background: Effective communication is one of the many skills that nursing students should master to be good at their job. Nursing students have to understand different kinds of communication styles to know how to deal with different situations as an aspect of nursing professional education. Poor communication is a barrier to effective nursing practice and this leaves the nurse to be isolated, feeling more stress and dissatisfied.Objective: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the communication skills learning, behavior and attitude among nursing students and their thoughts about the role of communication in three colleges in Qassim, KSA.Methods: A descriptive study was applied using a convenience sample of 116 female students from three nursing colleges in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. Attitude toward the learning of communication skills was evaluated by Communication Skills Attitudes Scale (CSAS).Results: All participants were female and most of them 3rd year students. The majority of nursing students at Qassim University (95.1%) had hospital training for three semesters and more compared to 61.8% from Al-Ghad College and 42.9% from Buraydah Colleges. Statistically significant differences were detected among the three colleges regarding most of the items of communication skills behavior. Communication Skills Attitudes Scale revealed a moderate score in the positive attitudes and the average score for negative attitudinal score.Conclusions: Moderate positive attitudes toward communication skills learning among nursing students of the three colleges. The results provide an important base for improving the content of the current communication curriculum in nursing study programs.