Revista de enfermería y cuidados

Communication Skills of Novice Nurses at Psychiatric Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Zakaria A Mani* and Mohammed Abutaleb

Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the novice nurses' perceptions of communication skills in Saudi Arabia. Method: A questionnaire developed by Moss that examined nurses’ communication with psychiatric patients was used. The questionnaires were collected during the month of December, 2016. Results: A total of 59 questionnaires were obtained from 89 participants, representing a 66.29% response rate. Findings revealed that novice psychiatric nurses faced challenges in communicating with psychiatric patients. Education and training from either nursing college or hospital orientation program were lacking. Conclusion: Nurses who have been in work for more than 12 months were confident in their communications with psychiatric patients. Nursing and hospital orientation program should be improved and empowered to prepare novice nurses for the psychiatric setting.