Including Communication in the Nursing Classroom: A Content Analysis of Communication Competence and Interprofessional Communication in Nursing Fundamentals Textbooks

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing identifies communication as one the four core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice and teaches communication to nursing students across the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine how communication is presented in nursing fundamentals textbooks. Grounded in communication in the disciplines (CID) framework, communication was primarily presented using the interactive model, with an emphasis on nonverbal and affective communication. All the communication competencies were covered in the textbooks, with active listening featured prominently and feedback and appropriate language choice covered least. Communication competence was also featured in the textbooks, with an emphasis on knowledge. Skills was limited to multiple choice questions and motivation was absent from the textbooks. The findings offer insight and recommendations for how to better prepare nursing students for communication interactions.