Education Commons^™

By Utilizing Technology Can Nursing Students Gain More Confidence And Decrease Anxiety When Communicating With Chronically Ill Patients About Their Sexual Relationship?, Sheri Rickman Patrick, Alice Butzlaff

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction
Effective communication is an essential part of nursing care. Nurses need to effectively communicate with patients, families, providers and staff. The purpose of this study was to show how the use of technology (i.e., video conferencing on an electronic device) could assist nursing students to gain more confidence and reduce anxiety when discussing difficult topics such as sexual intimacy.
Methods
Pre-licensure nursing students were recruited to participate as part of regular class activities. A pre- and post-survey asking about their confidence and anxiety in communicating with patients was completed; then subjects were randomly placed into groups of 4 to …

Improvisation As A Teaching Tool For Improving Oral Communication Skills In Premedical And Pre-Biomedical Graduate Students, Marianne Phelps, Catrina White, Lin Xiang, Hollie I. Swanson

Theatre and Dance Faculty Publications

Objective:

To evaluate the relationship between training in theatre improvisation and empathy, communication, and other professional skills.

Methods:

Undergraduate and graduate students who were participants of a 10-week summer undergraduate research program engaged in theatre improvisation techniques during a 3-hour workshop. In Study #1, a de-identified, self-report questionnaire (known as the Empathy Quotient) was administered prior to and following the workshop. Paired sample 2-tailed t-tests were performed to evaluate pre- and post-test scores. To identify additional benefits of engaging in theatre improvisation techniques, Study #2 was performed. Here, a survey was administered to the participants following their completion of …