Nursing undergraduate students' view on listening to patients during care delivery

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the views of nursing undergraduate students regarding listening to patients and the importance of listening to nursing care delivery. This investigation is an exploratory study using qualitative methodology and Complex Thinking by Morin as the theoretical reference. It enrolled 12 final-term undergraduate nursing students at Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, Santo André-SP. Study data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and analyzed using the content analysis technique. The resulting categories were: 1) listening: a challenge to the world; 2) the influence of the current biomedical paradigm on nurse's ability to listen to the patient; 3) putting aside preconceived ideas: learning to listen to the patient; and 4) preparing the undergraduate student to listen to patients. The study findings show that the undergraduate participants regard being a good listener as a difficult task because it requires being willing to listen to others and learning how to put aside preconceived ideas in order to not hinder patients from verbally expressing their feelings and needs.