Telling patients' stories with the humanoid diagram to improve nursing students' clinical communication and nursing competence

Background: Enhancing nursing students' clinical communication and professional competence is essential for delivering holistic care. Narrative learning, particularly through storytelling combined with visual methods such as humanoid diagrams, may deepen students' understanding of patients' needs and improve care outcomes. However, empirical evidence supporting this approach remains limited. Aim: This study investigated the effects of integrating narrative learning and humanoid diagram drawing into clinical education on nursing students' clinical communication and professional nursing competence. Design: A quasi-experimental study with a pre-test–post-test control group design. Setting and participants: The study was conducted at a university in Taiwan and involved 79 third-year nursing students, assigned to an experimental group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 39). Methods: The experimental group received a four-week narrative-based intervention using humanoid diagram during their clinical practicum. Data were collected at three-time points using validated instruments: the Clinical Communication Competence Scale (CCCS) and the Nurse Professional Competence Scale (NPCS). Repeated measures ANOVA and independent t-tests were used for analysis. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in both CCCS scores (F = 10.853, p < .001, η2 = 0.218) and NPCS scores (F = 3.567, p = .0033, η2 = 0.084) compared to the control group. The intervention demonstrated moderate effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.69 for CCCS; d = 0.49 for NPCS), indicating significant improvements in clinical communication and nursing competence. Conclusion: Integrating narrative learning – telling patients' life stories – with humanoid diagram drawing into clinical education effectively enhances nursing students' communication and nursing competence. This approach promotes holistic care and offers a promising direction for future nursing education and practice.