Examining the Relationship of Simulation to Nursing Communication Competency: A Quantitative, Causal-Comparative, Retrospective Study

This quantitative, causal-comparative, retrospective study investigated the impact of simulation-based education on nurse communication competence by evaluating communication skills between two groups of recently graduated and licensed registered nurses while controlling for total experience hours. Though nursing communication competence significantly impacts patient care outcomes, few studies have addressed the impact of simulation on the communication competence of licensed nurses practicing in the clinical setting. The study was conducted in the clinical setting with 78 participants divided between two categorical groups of recently graduated and licensed registered nurses depending on the proportion of simulation-based education received during clinical experience requirements. The dependent variable, communication competency, was measured using the Health Professionals Communication Skills Scale (HP-CSS) instrument. The covariate was the total clinical hours of experience. An anonymous online questionnaire collected participant responses to the HP-CSS instrument and demographic data. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed a statistically significant difference in communication competency between the simulation and non-simulation groups at the significance level of p = .05 while controlling for clinical experience hours. In conclusion, this study contributes to scientific literature and supports simulation-based education as an option to improve nursing communication competency during clinical nurse preparation. Recommendations for further study include the use of experimental controls for simulation module design and long-range studies that span both the academic and clinical settings.