Understanding Communication Education Needs of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Qualitative Study.

Aim: Before developing programs to enhance nursing students' communication skills, this study aims to provide foundational data for the development of practical and systematic communication education programs by understanding their experiences and identifying related difficulties.

Design: A qualitative descriptive study was used.

Methods: Two focus groups with nursing students were conducted on 13-14 February 2020. Two focus group interviews involved 16 participants. The participants consisted of four freshmen, four sophomores, four juniors and four seniors and were analysed using content analysis methods. The COREQ Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research were used to report this study.

Result: The analysis of the in-depth interviews conducted through focus group interviews identified 104 significant statements, which formed the basis for 13 themes, four theme clusters and two categories. The theme clusters identified were: 'Experiencing difficulties in communication', 'Yearning for learning', 'Gaining insights through positive experiences' and 'Applying realized strategies'. The results of this study will be used as a basis for developing a communication education program to improve the communication skills of nursing students.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that nursing students not only experience communication difficulties but also learn independently through positive experiences, apply realized strategies, and express a desire to learn more about communication. Understanding these experiences can help identify positive experiences and coping strategies in nursing student communication. It is necessary to revisit the factors influencing nursing students' communication to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of communication education programs that reflect these findings.

Patient or public contributions: No patient or public contribution.