Safety: Do Soft Skills Make a Hard Impact?

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Primary Author:</td>
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Robin B. Parnell, PhD</td>
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Co-Principal Investigators/Collaborators:</td>
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Judith St. Onge, PhD, RN</td>
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Organization:</td>
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Troy University</td>
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Abstract</h2>
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Purpose</h3>
<p align="left">To present the model of emotional intelligence as an effective model to teach the soft skills of communication and leadership and to describe the suggested methods for developing these skills. </p>
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Background</h3>
<p>Nursing educators have integrated safety teaching throughout nursing curricula in hopes to generate safer nurses in the workplace. Despite patient safety being a primary concern, safety discrepancies still occur at an alarming rate. The Joint Commission has identified ineffective communication and leadership as two of the most frequently identified root causes of sentinel events. The model of emotional intelligence (EI) has emerged in the health care literature as an effective tool for educators to teach the soft skills of communication and leadership, thereby, enhancing safety in nursing practice. </p>
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Materials & Methods</h3>
<p align="left">The authors used CINAHL Complete and Ovid Nursing & Health Professions databases to seek evidence of effective tools that could be incorporated in their ASN program to teach the softer skills of communication and leadership. They found that successful practices correlated with the EI model. The authors implemented some of the suggested teaching methods presented in the literature and evaluated outcomes. </p>
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Results</h3>
<p align="left">Since implementing the suggested teaching methods presented in the literature, the authors noticed a marked increase in verbalizations of empathy and “connectedness” with the feelings of the patients and greater self-confidence in problem solving. In addition, objective scores on diagnostic NCLEX-style questions increased in the area of safe and effective care.</p>
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Conclusion</h3>
<p>Developing soft skills of communication and leadership in the nursing curriculum can impact safety in nursing practice. EI is an effective model to teach these skills and have a significant impact on safety outcomes. Suggested methods for teaching and developing these skills are: reflective discussion and writing, self-inquiry, narrative, forum theatre, music, film, poetry, and practice of listening skills in the classroom. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods.</p>
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Bibliography</h3>
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Brown S., Kirkpatrick M., Mangum D., Avery J. (2008). A Review of Narrative Pedagogy Strategies to Transform Traditional Nursing Education. J Nurs Educ. 47(6) 283-286. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20080601-01</li>
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Fernandez, C., Peterson, H., Holmstrőm, S., & Connolly, A. (2012). Developing Emotional Intelligence for Healthcare Leaders. In A. Di Fabio (Ed.), Emotional intelligence – new perspectives and applications (pp 241 – 260). Retrieved from http://www.intechopen.com/books/emotional-intelligence-new-perspectives-...
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Harrison, P. & Fopma-Loy, J. (2010). Reflective journal prompts: A vehicle for stimulating emotional competence in nursing. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(11), 644 – 652.</li>
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Kolovou, T. (2011). Say what? The lost art of effective listening. America College of Sports Medicine, 15(4), 24 – 28.</li>
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The Joint Commission. (2013). Sentinel event data root causes by event type 2004-2012. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/Sentinel_Event_Statistics/</li>
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<p>© Improvement Science Research Network, 2012</p>
<p>The ISRN published this as received and with permission from the author(s).</p>