Nursing students’ perceptions about soft skills: a qualitative research

Abstract Objective Determining why students care so much about psychomotor skills and how they perceive the concept of skill is extremely important in terms of improving the content of education. There is no study has been found that qualitatively analyzes the reasons why students attach more importance to psychomotor skills than soft skills and their perceptions of soft skills in depth. This study aims to examine in depth the perceptions of nursing students regarding the concept of skills and their perceptions of acquiring soft skills. Methods This study adopted a descriptive qualitative study. The sample consisted of a total of 19 students who were recruited using random from each class. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through three focus group discussions in 2021-2022. Data were analysed through thematic analysis. Results Two themes emerged in this study, namely, meaning of the nursing and sufficiency. The first theme describes competence, psychomotor skills, and soft skills. The second theme describes course content, classroom content, and clinical environment. Conclusion The students did not comprehend the importance of soft skills sufficiently, especially in the first years of their education life, and they realized their importance during the hospital internship. Upon the development of facilitating interactive methods for the teaching of soft skills, students would be able to comprehend the importance of non-technical practices.