Influences of Communication Skill and Interpersonal Ability on Clinical Competence of Nursing Students

Purpose: This study was done to examine the relationship between communication skill, interpersonal ability and clinical competence of nursing students, and to identify factors influencing clinical competence. Methods: Research participants were 172 nursing students in the nursing departments of 3 universities located in G city and J province. The students had completed over 2 semesters of clinical practice. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression. Results: Participants' scores for communication skill, interpersonal relationships and clinical competence were $3.81{\pm}0.42$, $3.74{\pm}0.43$ and $3.49{\pm}0.43$ respectively. Communication skill, interpersonal relationships and clinical competence had positive correlations. Factors influencing nursing students' clinical competence included communication skill, interpersonal relationships, subjective health status and satisfaction with nursing as a major. These variables explained 40% of the variance in clinical competence. Conclusion: The findings show that development and application of educational programs to increase communication skill and interpersonal relationships are important and will improve nursing students' clinical competence.

의사소통과 대인관계 능력이 간호대학생의 임상수행능력에 미치는 영향