Need and relevance for english language training in oral case presentation of student nurses

Abstract

Oral case presentation (OCP) is an important clinical skill for nurses. Literature shows that, generally, less attention is paid to the development of OCP skills. Most of these studies being done by native English speakers have given importance only to content development rather than English language skills needed for OCP. This article explores the English language difficulty and its associated psychological barriers underneath the presentation of clinical cases of student nurses with limited English proficiency. This descriptive needs analysis study was done amongst the student nurses in South India. It has used a mixed method of exploratory interview and a standardised quantitative tool uniquely designed to bring out the hidden barriers in the effective use of English for OCP. The findings show that the most of the student nurses were not satisfied with their language ability to perform OCP. Amongst the language difficulty, the highest perceived difficulty was related to grammar usage and the inability to correct grammar mistakes, which had a mean value of 5.00 and 4.96, while explaining with good pronunciation had been their next concern with 4.96. The findings show that psychological aspects related to learning of second language influence their OCP skills. This language audit will furnish information on key linguistic skills that need to be focussed while developing English for specific purposes lessons for OCP training. The study will help to bridge the gap between classroom teaching and clinical communication requirement and significantly improve the performance of the English as a Second Language student nurses.