Nursing (self) assessment of soft skills in Cyprus: Training and educational issues

Abstract

Professional nurses during their duties in both caring and administrative levels need to show leadership skills to ensure the successful operation of the department. This research examine the importance of ten specific soft skills of professional nurses, by self- assessing and evaluating the existence and importance of above skills from both nurses and managers. The survey was implemented in Limassol’s General Hospital, Cyprus. Questionnaires were completed by 172 nurses and 23 managers, using the five- point Likert Scale. A research in curriculums and syllabus of Cypriot Universities and public health programs and initiatives was also conducted. Both groups understand the contribution and necessity of soft skills in performing nursing work, while a gap was revealed between both groups’ perceptions of nurses possessing the skills examined and the actual level of the total social skills. Further research should be conducted, in order to cross examine the interaction of the indicator “number of children” and the performance of soft skills of nurses, in a larger extent, since in literature seems to be no similar inquiry. Gaps revealed during analysis, regarding perception and actual level of soft skills in nursing should be mitigated through further training.

Keywords: Soft skills, nursing, perception, evaluation, education, Cyprus