The effect of clinical experience story telling on nursing student's communication skills, empathy level and attitude towards clinical practices

Aim: This research aims to evaluate the effects of telling clinical experience stories to nursing students using digital storytelling on their communication skills, empathy levels, and attitudes towards clinical practice. Material and Method: Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as a pretest-posttest randomized controlled experimental study. The research population consisted of 290 first-year students studying at İnönü University Faculty of Nursing in the 2024-2025 academic year, and the sample consisted of 88 students (44 experimental, 44 control) determined through Power analysis. A digital story presentation was used as the study material. Data were collected using an Introductory Information Form, the Therapeutic Communication Skills Scale for Nursing Students, the Empathy Level Determination Scale, and the Attitude Towards Clinical Practice Scale for Nursing Students. Findings: Therapeutic communication skills of the students in the experimental group were found to be significantly higher than those of the control group (t=2.625, p=0.004). A significant difference was found between the post-test mean scores on the empathy level determination scale, with the mean score of the experimental group being significantly higher (t=2.965; p=0.001). The students in the experimental group also had significantly higher positive attitudes toward clinical practice than the control group (t=3.740; p=0.000). Conclusion: It was determined that telling and displaying clinical experience stories as digital stories positively impacted nursing students' communication skills, empathy, and attitudes toward clinical practice. Based on these results, it is recommended that nursing students utilize storytelling throughout their education and supplement these stories with videos. Keywords: Clinical practice, Communication, Digital Story, Empathy, Student