Improving counseling skills in nursing students of Turin university: a pilot study [Migliorare le abilità di counseling in un gruppo di studenti del corso di laurea in infermieristica di Torino: uno studio pilota]

BACKGROUND: Although communication and counseling skills are essential for nursing profession, specific educational program are not so widespread. AIM: Evaluation of the improvement of Counseling skills as a result of a specific training. METHODS: A multi-center pilot study with pre-post test design with a convenience sample of 65 students was carried out. The Counseling training consisted in three consecutive levels over a period of six months for a total of six days. To measure the ability of reformulation, basic tool of Counseling, a questionnaire was used with 20 interviews (hypothetical interview between health professional and patient). RESULTS: 62 students participated. The sample is composed mainly by females (84%), the average age is 23 years. The average value of BEES (level of empathy) is 41 points (± SD 11.5), the value does not correlate with age nor gender. Before the training (PRE) most of the students identified as the most suitable approach/strategy to deal with educational problems that investigative (347-27%) and the relational one. At the end of intervention (POST) most of the students used a comprehension approach/strategy (90% of the responses), opposed to before the course (18%). CONCLUSION: The training course, shows to lead to a significant improvement in using comprehension strategies to deal with issues of educational assistance of clients.