Social Skills Should Be a Bigger Focus in Nursing School

[Kenneth S. Veillon]

So many new grads are unprepared for the social aspect of the field. They almost unilaterally complain of personality conflicts with peers and management and frequently leave the whole field because they aren't able to deal with personalities. 

In my opinion, this needs to be addressed in regards to the preperation of new grads.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Do you think that this can mainly be taught? I think sometimes that these abilities come from experience and native social-emotional aptitude...

[Sour Lemon]

58 minutes ago, Kenneth S. Veillon said:

So many new grads are unprepared for the social aspect of the field. They almost unilaterally complain of personality conflicts with peers and management and frequently leave the whole field because they aren't able to deal with personalities. 

In my opinion, this needs to be addressed in regards to the preperation of new grads.

From the ground up, socialization is a huge part of school. If someone manages to make it to nursing school and still has no clue, that's not something that can be fixed in a quick manner.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

I think that when people enter the field of nursing, or deal with nurses in general, there is sometimes the expectation that we are, as a whole, a group that are unflaggingly cheerful, kind, generous, etc. The people "called" to nursing are expected to be more than real people with the traits of real people that include faults and many different personalities. Perhaps when new grads enter the field and find that they are not welcomed as warmly as they perhaps envisioned in their school years, that there is something wrong with the profession.

And as was already pointed out, socialization is a process that really starts at birth and is a product of our relationships throughout our lives. Nearly an impossible thing to put into a curriculum for a semester. Perhaps encouraging more people to seek an outlet such as talk therapy, where they might better process what they are seeing, their reactions to it, and potential ways to improve their situations. Interesting thought. 

[Emergent, RN]

I agree, there should be units on etiquette and conflict resolution. Also, sociological information regarding various cultures in nursing should be included in the curriculum. 

When I was in nursing school, they were just getting into teaching about the whole eating your young stereotype. I don't think this was a very balanced trend, it contributed to a lot of the sense of victimization that a large percentage of new grads feel.

The subject is much more complex than that viewpoint, which probably grew out of some people's personal experiences, but there are two sides to every story.

[pinkdoves, BSN]

I don't think this can be taught. Regardless of the fact we are all nurses-we are first our own people with very distinct personalities. This influences the way we practice and get along with others.

[HiddencatBSN, BSN]

That was covered in my leadership seminar along with delegation skills.

[TriciaJ, RN]

You start with the "everyone gets a trophy" early childhood.  Everyone knows their "rights" but draws a blank at "responsibilities".  There are no clear rites of passage to adulthood so you see prolongued adolescence well into the 20s and beyond.

With the emphasis on "self-esteem" and "unconditional positive regard", is it any wonder people are entering the workforce socially unprepared?

With exclusive focus on academic prowess and the assumption that the "soft skills" will be magically picked up along the way, is it any wonder we have schoolgirl cliques among adult professionals?

It might be difficult to teach social skills in nursing school but maybe it should be part of the applicant screening process.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Isn't that just kind of part of "Adulting 101"?

I mean, it's a skill that is needed in EVERY career, not just nursing. Ergo, it should be taught to all children and young adults, not just nursing students.

[speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I don’t think this is necessarily something that can be taught. In addition, everyone keeps talking about “new grads” and honestly I have seen this in new grads and experienced nurses, younger nurses and older nurses, and in many many people outside the nursing field. 

I have seen nurses who were true bullies. I have seen nurses who were whiners or didn’t pull their work load. I have seen nurses who have spent way too long in one specialty and care about no one. I have seen good nurse leaders change and become corrupted instead of leaving the position. The list goes on and on. The only person you can control is yourself - no one else.

[Emergent, RN]

I disagree with those who think that this couldn't be taught. It might take some time for those teachings to take root in someone's life, but social coaching would be invaluable to many.

I've always been a somewhat socially awkward person myself, and it took years of trial-and-error for me to figure out the do's and don'ts of the nursing workplace. I've always gotten along a lot better with boys and men from childhood, and nursing is a female-dominated profession.

Not everybody was the popular cheerleader in high school. Some personalities are more inward, and don't get the social cues instinctively. We need to get coaching, and our Educators should be on the front lines to guide us in this way.

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

Part of every clinical rotation is “socialization to the role,” even if it’s not explicit in the syllabus. The problem comes when clinicals become mired in what I’ve always called the “lab check off mentality,” where students think psychomotor “skills” are why they’re in nursing school. Caught up in the “Oooh, you got to do a ...”, “I’ve never done a ...”, “What can a ... do that a ... can’t do?” merry go round they miss how much of nursing is based on your being able to think like a nurse, including being a member of a team and how that evolves, not just do psychomotor tasks we teach lay people all the time.

Why does this matter in this context? Because it takes a certain amount of self-awareness to read a room, at its most basic. You can’t teach students to behave with think-like-a-nurse maturity unless you set out to do it mindfully...and the lab check off mentality will sabotage that at every turn.

You have only to read back decades of AN posts on NETY to see the reactions of people who think they’re disrespected, bullied, ignored, criticized, and questioned when what they’ve encountered is working professional colleagues who don’t think the new grad is God’s gift with the sun rising out of their (sweet smiles). When a student gets a virtual slap for a failure to adult, few clinical instructors are prepared to ditch the plan for today’s clinical conference and hold a group session on realistic expectations for behavior in the workplace. Telling students they will be asked for rationales for their decisions, held accountable for subpar performance, and watched carefully by people with a lot more experience isn’t recognized for the sound advice it is, but becomes yet another reason for panty-twisting over NETY.

Letting them know that it’s not reasonable to expect to be folded into a working team seamlessly is scary. A busy charge nurse might not have more than a quick “Good morning” and you might not be invited out with the gang at the end of a shift. Letting students know about this level of interpersonal relations at work and role playing it in clinical conference might be a mercy....but then, you hear, “I graduated from my program and never started an IV, whatever is wrong?”