Communication Challenges: Phenomenology Study

Students claim that education leads to better results when it is offered in a friendly and desirable environment. They also believe that instructors in possession of better communication skills and high capability to transfer concepts and experiences are more successful in creating decent learning environment and motivating the students. Taking into account that communication depends on individual's perception of it and that personality differences influence individual's perception, the present study tries to elaborate on nursing students’ perception of their communication with instructors.

Participants in this qualitative phenomenological study were 5 nursing students of Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University. The participants were selected through purposeful sampling. To collect the needed data, semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted and the obtained data were analyzed using Colaizzi method.

Analysis of the transcripts indicated four common themes mentioned by the participants including instructors’ characteristics, communication factors effective in establishing communication, the students’ characteristics and condition, and moral/humanistic concerns in communication.

To improve communication between the instructors and students, the participants emphasized on issues such as the instructor's professional and moral characteristics, necessity of having communications in a mutual manner, observance of moral and customs codes, recognition of cultural differences by the instructor, and recognizing students as respectable people.