Effects of a Comprehensive Person-Centered Care Education Program for Nursing Students

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study is to develop and implement a comprehensive person-centered care (PCC) education program for nursing students and assess its effects on individualized care, empathy, communication competence, and clinical practice stress. Materials and Methods: A non-equivalent control group non-synchronized design was used. Participants were 60 third-year nursing students undergoing clinical practicum in a nursing school. They were assigned either to the control group (29 students) or experimental group (31 students). The experimental group participated in a comprehensive PCC education program, while the control group did not. Four 65-min sessions were conducted over two weeks; each session comprised 5 min of introduction, 50 min of education, and 10 min of sharing of thoughts and training. Individualized care, empathy, communication competence, and clinical practice stress were measured. Data were collected immediately before the education program and two weeks after program completion. Results: After the education program, the experimental group showed significant improvements in individualized care, empathy, and communication competence and significantly reduced clinical practice stress compared to the control group. Conclusions: The comprehensive PCC education program is a potentially beneficial intervention for nursing students to help them practice person-centered care with confidence. Longitudinal randomized controlled trials are needed to substantiate these findings.