Introduction: Nursing students establish therapeutic relationships with their patients and as future nursing professionals, they should be trained to be effective communicators. The objective of this systematic review was to know the impact of educational interventions on nursing students to develop their communication skills with patients. Methods: A systematic review of literature was carried out. The following databases were consulted: CINAHL, PubMed (Ovid Medline), SCOPUS and Web of Science. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guided this review. As for inclusion criteria, published articles in English from 2000 to 2020 were included. The methodological rigor of the included articles was evaluated with the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trial or Quasi-Experimental Studies. Changes in communication skills with the patient after the implementation of an intervention were analyzed. Results: Of the included studies in this systematic review (N = 19), two studies were randomized controlled trials, others were single group quasi-experimental studies (N = 11) and two group quasi-experimental studies (n = 6). The majority of the studies were carried out in the USA (n = 7). The most frequent educational intervention was simulation (n = 11). As for the improvement of communication skills, 13 of the 19 articles found statistically significant differences in patient-centered communication skills of nursing students. Conclusions: This systematic review provides preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of interventions used to train nursing students in patient-centered communication. Although all the interventions obtained significant results in communication skills, it has not yet been determined which methodology is more effective.

The increasing concern about the adverse effects of overuse of smartphones during clinical practicum implies the need for policies restricting smartphone use while attending to patients. It is important to educate health personnel about the potential risks that can arise from the associated distraction. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the level of nomophobia and the distraction associated with smartphone use among nursing students during their clinical practicum. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 304 nursing students. The nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q) and a questionnaire about smartphone use, the distraction associated with it, and opinions about phone restriction policies in hospitals were used. A positive correlation between the use of smartphones and the total score of nomophobia was found. In the same way, there was a positive correlation between opinion about smartphone restriction polices with each of the dimensions of nomophobia and the total score of the questionnaire. Nursing students who show high levels of nomophobia also regularly use their smartphones during their clinical practicum, although they also believe that the implementation of policies restricting smartphone use while working is necessary.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome characterized by generalized pain, joint rigidity, intense fatigue, sleep alterations, headache, spastic colon, craniomandibular dysfunction, anxiety, and depression. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether massage‐myofascial release therapy can improve pain, anxiety, quality of sleep, depression, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia. A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed. Seventy‐four fibromyalgia patients were randomly assigned to experimental (massage‐myofascial release therapy) and placebo (sham treatment with disconnected magnotherapy device) groups. The intervention period was 20 weeks. Pain, anxiety, quality of sleep, depression, and quality of life were determined at baseline, after the last treatment session, and at 1 month and 6 months. Immediately after treatment and at 1 month, anxiety levels, quality of sleep, pain, and quality of life were improved in the experimental group over the placebo group. However, at 6 months postintervention, there were only significant differences in the quality of sleep index. Myofascial release techniques improved pain and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia.

Background: Gamification provides nursing students with a setting in which they can practice clinical reasoning and decision making in a realistic and secure way. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of gamification on decision making in nursing students. Method: A quasi-experimental study was performed with a control group and an experimental group. A convenience sample was used to select the participants. A total of 191 nursing students participated. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the groups. Results: On comparing the control group and experimental group, statistically significant differences were found in the following patterns: vigilance, buck passing, and procrastination. Conclusion: Using gamification as part of nursing education increases satisfaction, creative thinking, and control, among other aspects, with little to no negative effects throughout the experience, which has a significant impact on decision making. [ J Nurs Educ . 2019;58(12):718–722.]