earticle

영어

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the level of communication ability between paramedic students and patients in clinical practice. In addition, it was performed to produce essential data contributing to the qualitative improvement of communication ability. Methods: Data were collected from paramedic students with clinical experience after they provided online consent. Data collection was performed from June 3 to July 12, 2022. One hundred forty-seven questionnaires with 92 items were analyzed using SPSS statistics 28.0. Results: 57.1% of students took communication as a subject despite 92.5% of respondents saying that communication education is necessary for them. The average level of participant communication ability was 4.60 (±1.05) points (measured on a 7-point Likert scale). Among the subdivided communication ability levels, the highest level was demonstrated in the physical examination-related interview (5.36±0.96), and the lowest was shown in the completion part (3.93±1.51). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found in communication ability level according to school grade (F=4.709, p=.000). The highest correlation (r=.972, p<.001) was obtained between total communication ability and understanding the patient’s point of view. Conclusion: Paramedic students should improve their communication skills to serve patients more effectively. Finally, more educational content should be developed on field-based situations in communication courses.