The Role of Communication Skills in Acquiring Soft Skills for Nurses

Abstract

In every profession, soft skills play an important role to be effective and successful. Different soft skills are needed in different professions. Nurses and nursing managers are the professionals who need both clinical skills as well as soft skills. If one wants to be reliable and professionally competitive they need to acquire the needed soft skills through effective communication skills. In the 21st Century, the very question of getting a job as a nursing professional does not depend on mere certification with clinical skills but also in having the necessary soft skills. A study was conducted among a group of nurses and nursing managers to know whether they are aware of essential nursing soft skills and how far do they agree that communication skills play an important role in acquiring the needed soft skills. The results show that most of them are not aware of the needed soft skills and many of them do not agree that effective communication plays an important role in acquiring the other soft skills.