Integrating soft skills in nursing clinical skill assessments for aseptic procedures: a clinical audit approach
Nursing academics play a crucial role in cultivating appropriate attitudes towards aseptic techniques among nursing students. It is imperative to raise awareness among students about their responsibility in preventing healthcare-associated infections to improve patient outcomes and quality of lif...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
Semerak Ilmu Publishing
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/120572/7/120572_Integrating%20soft%20skills%20in%20nursing%20clinical.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/120572/ https://semarakilmu.online/index.php/sijphpc/article/view/9 https://doi.org/10.37934/sijphpc.3.1.2130 |
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| Summary: | Nursing academics play a crucial role in cultivating appropriate attitudes towards
aseptic techniques among nursing students. It is imperative to raise awareness among
students about their responsibility in preventing healthcare-associated infections to
improve patient outcomes and quality of life, starting with teaching and assessing
these principles during their education, ensuring a balance between technical
proficiency and the essential soft skills inherent to nursing care. This study aimed to
examine the soft skill elements in objectively structured clinical skill assessment on
aseptic procedures in the undergraduate nursing programme. A clinical audit was
carried out on the retrospective structured clinical skill assessment exam questions by
using the clinical skill assessment index III (CSAI-III) instrument. A total of 51 aseptic
procedures set of exam questions were collected from 7 higher learning institutions in
Malaysia where they offered the undergraduate nursing programme. The data were
analysed descriptively. There were 51 aseptic procedures out of 237 collected exam
documents found and analysed in this study. The aseptic procedures were grouped
into 11 types to make them more specific. Although there are nine soft skill elements
were identified in relation to aseptic procedures, including communication, social and
responsibility, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, professional
and ethical decision-making, numeracy, and interpersonal skills. However,
communication skills were predominantly present in 80.4% of the OSCE documents
analyzed, while other soft skill elements were notably absent from the assessment
rubrics. Notably, all 51 aseptic procedure assessments provided necessary equipment,
eliminating the need for students to gather items, though none specified allocated
time for scenario review, and only 43.1% included clear instructions for students. Thus,
the current aseptic procedure checklist of clinical skill assessment needs improvement,
especially the soft skills components. Besides, higher-learning nursing institutions in
Malaysia should visit and revise the content of their checklist and the related materials
if they are concerned about quality graduates and ultimately improve the quality
nursing care towards their patients. |
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