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.

[Emergent, RN]

1 hour ago, Iluvnightshift said:

I often hear many nurses say introverts do not belong in nursing.

I am an introvert myself, so I wonder if that was directed at me.

 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

On 5/19/2021 at 7:03 AM, klone said:

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.

This is what I was going to say. Nursing is a second career for me, and in ALL fields, there are some people who just don’t get it. They’re grumpy or mean or sullen or abrasive or flirtatious or overly confrontational or drastically insecure or a million other problems, and they they don’t understand why “everyone else gets promotions” or “nobody else ever gets in trouble” and they think it’s unfair, or that the boss has it out for them, etc. I don’t know what we do about those people, but it certainly isn’t exclusive to nursing. 

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

9 hours ago, Emergent said:

 

This is me to a T!  I don't really find it as hard to stay "charged" at work for some reason, just in true social situations.  

I became a nurse at 22, and now that I'm 35 can definitely look back and see how some life experience would have helped me gain some perspective.  But I did the best I could and made it.  I think nursing schools in general could do a better job of preparing their grads for "real world nursing" in MANY ways, but I don't think they're pushing "victimology" or anything.

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

On 5/21/2021 at 5:57 PM, SmilingBluEyes said:

Socialization begins at home with the family of origin, not in nursing school!

It might start there but as children age to adulthood it’s on them to go out into the world and learn to live in it. 

[BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN]

On 5/18/2021 at 4:15 PM, 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.

The subject to be taught is effective communication in healthcare and emotional intelligence strategies. It needs to be a side course in the ADN and BSN programs.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

On 5/18/2021 at 5:17 PM, Sour Lemon said:

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.

Agree 100%.  Dealing with personality conflict starts in pre-school and never stops. This is all training to deal with future co-workers, customers and bosses.  There are always kids that don't get along. Everybody has also had teachers they couldn't stand.  If a person makes it all the way to college and beyond to a career without learning how to deal with people despite personality differences they aren't ever going to learn it.

[whalestales, ASN, RN]

On 5/21/2021 at 6:55 PM, nursej22 said:

As far as nursing classes teaching interpersonal communications, every semester class and clinical time got pared down and the emphasis was on passing NCLEX. 

This ^^^

And a lot of my classmates haven't had any in-person clinicals yet (RE: COVID) and we are halfway through our program. So some of them have never interacted with patients/families before.

_________________________________________________________________________ 

I couldn't pull quotes from past pages for some reason, apologies

@Emergent: It took years of trial-and-error for me to figure out the do's and don'ts ...

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.

@klone: It should be taught to all children and young adults, not just nursing students.

As an autistic nursing student who went through "social skills group" in elementary school I support this message!

[Lynker, LPN]

A girl in my first semester of LPN school failed because of her personal skills/she wasn't confident enough. (Was I? Nah but I faked it 'til I made it LOL)

[Mavnurse17, BSN, RN]

I think there absolutely needs to be some sort of lecture about communication in healthcare-- not necessarily how to work on yourself as an individual re: communication skills.  When they taught us SBAR they said "make sure you give a really good background or else the physician will yell at you for waking them up and not knowing what you're talking about."  And that's it.  So understandably, as a new grad fumbling over my SBAR to an attending cardiothoracic surgeon at 4 am, I felt a type of way when I got yelled at.  You do learn how to more effectively communicate with other members of the care team on the job, but I agree that it would be helpful to have some sort of baseline to build on-- one that's established in school.  

[FashionablyL8, CNA, LPN]

There is definitely no shortage of difficult people in the world and of course, nurses/nursing students are among them. I'm an older "new grad" and I must agree that I saw some entitled, overly sensitive attitudes at school- mainly among the young but a few students my age too. The "everyone gets a trophy" is nice but kids need to learn that respect is earned and the world owes them nothing. I agree that the way we were raised in the 70's prepared us better for "real life". Of course on the other side, true bullying was ignored- "Just fit in!" was the general sentiment from where I come from- and I won't even get started on the general ignorance and intolerance to mental health issues, sexuality and diversity. But when it comes to the "me first, I'm so special and nobody understands"- I do think we see more snowflakes these days. Parents who are afraid to be "reported" for normal discipline and jobs and schools that fear being sued allow some people to get away with unacceptable behavior. I would love to think that all nurses are kind, considerate, emotionally healthy people but that's not reality. I agree that it's important that some social skills be addressed in nursing school but also that there's no way that it will "fix" people who have naturally difficult or unkind personalities or those who may be decent people but have such ingrained habits and outlooks due to their upbringing that you can't see the decency.

I think that ESPECIALLY in nursing, an attitude of respect, tolerance, kindness and patience should be prerequisites. Nobody is like that all the time but we should usually be able to hold it together at work without upsetting and alienating coworkers and patients. Then again, there are coworkers and patients who seem to make it their life's goal to be upset and alienated. Sometimes you just can't win. However, having fact, manners and knowing when not to "go there" is a big part of being a good nurse, IMO.

I'm rambling here but just want to add- I think it is SO important to respect those who have gone before us. When I work with a nurse who has experience and wisdom to share, I don't expect to be coddled and coaxed. When one spends all their time thinking about how that are being treated- "that nurse's tone was harsh"- "she didn't thank me for emptying that bedpan"- etc etc- one doesn't leave room to notice what is important- what can be LEARNED from that nurse! I'm not talking about nurses who are outright mean, just ones that are stern and no-no sense. There's nothing wrong with that and new nurses should be able to learn from all types of people. 

[ZiggyGuzman]

I agree with one of the previous posters- it seems this question has been strangely interpreted from what the original poster intended. 

I interpreted this as "should there be some sort of professional communication training?" Which for young new grads would definitely be helpful. And those types of skills can be easily taught. In my first career, I absolutely had communication training. Part of it was how to prepare presentations, documentation, technical communication skills. But another part of it was learning the different avenues within the team, learning the heirarchies, and learning professional dress, behavior, and even informal communication expectations. 

For some people, mostly those who grew up in a certain socioeconomic and cultural class, those skills are really basic and second nature. For many other people, especially young people just starting out in a professional field, those skills and expectations are super unfamiliar and can be anxiety producing. 

It has nothing to do if they are too sensitive, or want to be coddled, or are otherwise unsuited. It is about knowing and understanding the culture of the profession and learning to navigate it appropriately. And having a segment or unit on those types of soft skills can only help those students feel more confident and be better employees. 

[LindaGracie, ADN, BSN]

On 5/19/2021 at 10:43 AM, Emergent said:

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.

I agree with you Emergent, I was teased as a child (being a preemie, an identical twin, smallest girl in the class, being delayed in speech & a little slower academically) with the desire to be successful but was socially awkward. I still remember never understanding body language as a child. Needless to say I have pretty much overcome being small, found that going to colleges (yes, 4 degrees) helped with any self-esteem issues with any LD I might of had but still struggle with the social skills and being accepted by the fast-pace, corporate/politics and cutting corners that occurs in many healthcare (and non-healthcare) facilities. Nursing is a second career. Thankfully I am retired from my first career with a pension and benefits which I am very grateful for but I am still struggling with which area of nursing is the right fit for me. I wonder sometimes if my social skills awkwardness is due to me being a preemie and not being accepted socially by my peers adversely effected my social development or if something with my brain development effected my ability to excel socially and that is why I struggle socially. From reading several of the posts, I'm not the only one. Therefore I think those who picked up on social skills easily in life need to be more empathetic and willing to help those of us who may be a little slower in the social skills department.