Enhancing effective interpersonal interactions through soft skills: perceptions of nurse educators

Background: Student nurses come across various complex interpersonal spheres that require them to show their soft skills. Nursing education pays more attention to developing hard skills but focuses less on the soft skills that contribute to the success of healthcare establishments and the nurses themselves. Thus, the purpose of the study was to explore and describe nurse educators’ perceptions of soft skills that enhance effective interpersonal interactions and to develop recommendations to facilitate the incorporation of soft skills in nursing education. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual research design was used for this study. A purposive sampling method was applied, and 12 online semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nurse educators from the Higher Education in Johannesburg. Tesch’s open coding method was employed for data analysis. The measures of trustworthiness were adhered to throughout the research process, along with the ethical principles. Results: Majority of the nurse educators perceive that teaching soft skills strengthens personal capacity to interact and relate better with others. The analysis of the study revealed five themes (1) Soft skills teaching is perceived by nurse educators as enhancing effective interpersonal interactions. (2) effective communication, (3) teamwork (4) emotional intelligence, and (5) critical thinking. Conclusion: Facilitating soft skills in nursing education is essential in preparing nurse graduates who can foster effective interpersonal interactions with patients and other professionals.