An Investigation of Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Therapeutic Communication with Patients

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic Communication (TC) is the process of purposeful and understandable communication between patients and caregivers, which helps facilitate optimized care. Here, we assessed nursing students’ interaction with patients and its related factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, a convenience sample of 240 undergraduate nursing students from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, completed consent forms, a demographic information questionnaire, and a TC questionnaire in 2018. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: TC score of most students was moderate and good, with the mean (SD) of 143.07 (12.86). Factors, including gender (Χ(2) = 8.02, p ≤ 0.01), semester (Χ(2) = 4.01, p ≤ 0.05), employment (r = 0.49, p ≤ 0.01), and workshop attendance (r = 0.80, p ≤ 0.01), influenced the students’ TC knowledge and skills. CONCLUSIONS: Future nurses’ TC can be improved by part-time employment and practical training. Conducting more research with a larger sample size from all nursing faculties is suggested.