title: What is an interpersonally skilled person?: a repertory grid account of professional nurse's views.
abstract: This study sought to identify how a group of professional nurses viewed the notion of an 'interpersonally skilled person'. Using a modified repertory grid approach, we asked 21 professional nurses to elicit eight bi-polar constructs relating to an 'interpersonally skilled person'. A total of 168 constructs was produced and these were analysed into different content areas. In addition, respondents were asked to rate themselves against the set of constructs that they, themselves, had elicited. Three levels of findings are offered in this study: 1) the content of the constructs that were elicited 2) the distribution of the constructs within these content areas 3) the discrepancies that were found between self and ideal self elements The findings indicated that the nurses in this study tended to view the interpersonally skilled person more in terms of personal qualities than in terms of identifiable skills. They also tended to identify themselves as deficient in many of the qualities that they elicited. The study has implications for teaching interpersonal skills and these are discussed in this report.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Burnard
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*