Effects of a Staff Development Program on Head Nurses’ Communication Skills and Job Satisfaction

Background: Communication skills of operational managers such as head nurses greatly influence the performance of nursing personnel and by extension, the quality of the care provided by them. Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the role of a development program on communication skills and job satisfaction in head nurses. Materials and Methods: This research was a non-randomized two-group trial. A random allocation of two hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences created an intervention and control group. In the intervention group, all head nurses were entered in a two-day communication skills development workshop using adult learning theory. The head nurses of the other hospital were allocated to the control group. Job satisfaction and communication skills of head nurses were investigated prior and 6 weeks following intervention in two groups. The data were analyzed by Chi-square, Fisher exact test, T-test, paired t test and analysis of covariance. Results: Following intervention, the communication skills scores achieved by intervention group were 127.5 ± 7.10 at pretest and increased to 134.11 ± 7.32 after the intervention (P 0.01). The mean score of the communication skills did not alter significantly in the control group. Moreover, no significant change was observed in the mean scores of job satisfaction of head nurses in the intervention group compared to those of the control group (P = 0.102). Conclusions: The development programs of communication skills resulted in an increased level of communication skills in the head nurses. However, more effective steps have to be taken in professional and organization conditions to enhance head nurses’ job satisfaction level.