Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse the communication skills of students in interactions with simulated critically-ill patients using a new assessment tool to study the relationships between communication skills, teamwork and clinical skills and to analyse the psychometric properties of the tool.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the communications skills of 52 students with critically-ill patients through the use of a new measurement tool to score video recordings of simulated clinical scenarios.
Results: The 52 students obtained low scores on their skills in communicating with patients. The reliability of the measuring instrument showed good inter-observer agreement (ICC between 0.71 and 0.90) and the validity yielded a positive correlation (p<0.01).
Conclusions: The results provide evidence that nursing students lack skills when communicating with critically ill patients in simulated scenarios. The measuring instrument used is therefore deemed valid and reliable for assessing nursing students through a clinical simulation.
Keywords: Clinical simulation; Communication; Critical care; Nursing students; Patient.
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