Communication barriers for nursing students: Communication apprehension, emotional intelligence and perceived communication competence

Abstract

Ineffective communication leads to poor patient outcomes. This cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study examined relationships between self-perceived communication competence (SPCC), communication apprehension (CA) and emotional intelligence (EI) in ADN students (N=135). Second-year students had higher CA scores than first-year students. EI was a significant predictor of SPCC with a positive correlation between EI and SPCC and a negative correlation between CA and SPCC. Early interventions to identify and reduce CA for students may improve communication competence.