Communication Skills for Nursing Students

Target Population: Nursing students Objectives: The objective of this course is to introduce the student to the challenges and importance of developing effective communication skills when dealing with patients and their families, and discuss medico legal issues in patient care. Course Description: Participants encounter simulated patients (actors) or their immediate family in scenarios focusing on patients after surgery, patients with cardiac problems, and the patient with respiratory problems.  Colleagues and debriefing facilitators observe the encounters through one-way glass panels, and audiovisual recordings are made for the debriefing sessions.  On completion of the encounter, the participant receives feedback from the simulated patient, colleagues and debriefing facilitators and the recorded encounter is watched and discussed in the debriefing session.