The Contribution of Dance Movement Therapy in Promoting Nursing Students’ Interpersonal Skills during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities closed or reduced clinical placements(CPs), limiting nursing students’ opportunities to practice communication and interpersonal skillsbefore graduating. When applied in nursing curriculums, Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) enhancesstudents’ understanding of the theoretical concepts of communication and interpersonal skills,representing a valuable educational tool when CPs are reduced, as during the COVID-19 pandemic.This descriptive phenomenological study aims to describe the contribution of DMT in promoting third-year nursing students’ relational skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-four nursing studentswho attended a DMT workshop completed a reflective journal. Data were analysed using contentanalysis. Three themes emerged: struggling to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, livedexperience of DMT, and professional identity development. The first theme illustrates the connectionparticipants made between their experiences during the DMT workshop and the caregiving challengesimposed by the pandemic; the second theme describes how the workshop fostered emotional andphysical connections among its participants; the third theme focuses on the awareness participantsacquired regarding their professional role during the workshop. When CPs opportunities are limited,DMT workshops can represent an educational tool to promote interpersonal and communicationskills among nursing students, facilitating their transition into the profession