title: Communication education for pre-licensure nursing students: literature review 2002-2013.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Effective communication skills are fundamental to good nursing care and required by certification bodies for nursing education. The purpose of this literature review was to update one done in 2002 of communication education to pre-licensure registered nursing students. That review concluded that it was unclear which interventions were most effective due to methodological and other quality issues. The goal of this review was to identify recent educational methods, frameworks, and evaluation tools and to assess the quality of this recent evidence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature review.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, CINAHL, and PsychINFO.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inclusion criteria were articles in English, 2002 to 2013, full text available, addressing nurse:patient communication, and educational interventions. Exclusion criteria were inter-professional interventions as they are not yet as widely available. Studies were evaluated using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-based Practice (JHNEBP) Rating Scale. This scale categorizes the levels of evidence and methodological quality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search yielded 457 titles, 115 abstracts, and 38 articles. Twenty studies met inclusion and exclusion search criteria. They included a range of research designs, samples, and outcomes. In line with recent communication educational trends, the interventions all involved active learning. Using the JHNEBP scale, the quality of the 20 studies was low due to both research design and methodological issues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the importance of communication in nursing education, the quality of evidence to support specific communication interventions continues to be low. Recommendations for future communication education research are to (1) explore the highest quality designs available and use randomization where possible; (2) more consistently use theoretical frameworks and their accompanying outcome measures; and (3) that tools be tested for evidence of reliability and validity.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States. Electronic address: grant@son.umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Marian S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States.
authors.forename: Louise S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D004506:Education, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008008:Licensure, Nursing; D013338:Students, Nursing
keywords: Communication skills; Nursing education; Nursing students; Pre-licensure