ASSESSMENT OF LIFE SKILLS AMONG FIRST YEAR B.SC. NURSING STUDENTS OF SELECTED NURSING COLLEGE, TAMILNADU

Buvaneswari R 1 and Sylvia Juliet 2 . 1. Lecturer, College of Nursing, Jawaharlal Institute of Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India. 2. Professor cum Vice Principal, Sacred Heart Nursing College, Madurai, India. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History


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Mere academic excellence will not help. Today's youth need a lot of mental strength to cope with challenges and pressure. "Some students may have done extremely well in academics, but we see that a few turn neurotic and break down for small things. Poor tolerance towards criticism, lack of assertiveness and low self-esteem could cause such problems. "Students' Emotional Quotient is as important as their Intelligence Quotient. They have to face pressure not just from peers but also from members of family sometimes. It is important that they are equipped to handle these while in high school. (R. Sathianathan, Director, Institute of Mental Health.) [5] Life skills learning need not be confined to a specific age or stage in life.
The Ten core Life Skills as laid down by WHO are: 1. Self-awareness 2. Empathy 3. Critical thinking 4. Creative thinking 5. Decision making 6. Problem Solving 7. Effective communication 8. Interpersonal relationship 9. Coping with stress and 10. Coping with emotion [1] Nursing is a challenging profession because it requires expertise in a broad range of skills and abilities. Nursing students need Analytical abilities, Psycho-Social-Behavioral Abilities, Physical Abilities, Sensory Abilities, and Emotional Intelligence. [6] Students are going through a transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood. They typically view their enrollment in college as an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace and to advance their general knowledge and life skills. University students have to manage their time and also look for sources in order to accomplish their assignments; a challenging job to handle, in particular, for first year students. Failure in such condition would lead to poor chances of academic success. Success for the first year student is more than merely gaining sufficient academic credit to progress to the next year of study, but also involves educational and personal development. In fact, first year students face some certain social issues and undergo a lot of pressure from studies. Negligence in settling the problem, on the one hand, and too much stress gripping students, on the other hand, obviously leads to a situation in which they show more intensely vulnerable to various tensions, compared with other segments of society. Students who enter college unprepared for academic work may not have the coping skills necessary to compensate for the pressure and anxiety that they feel when being challenged. Life Skills are those competencies that assist people in functioning well in the environments in which they live. [7] Life skills also improve the self efficacy of nursing students: Nursing students self efficacy is a predictor for their educational progress. Students, who believe that they can be successful in their studies, are more confident. [8] Life skills offer the nurse an opportunity to acquire self knowledge, to take a positive approach to self and to develop personal growth and enrichment. Interpersonal skills place emphasis on the individual as a unique person, in the family, group and community. Personal growth and enrichment will support the nurse in pursuit of professional growth. They will enable the nurse to act effectively in relation to other people and to render holistic nursing care by applying life skills while supporting the patient in the pursuit and maintenance of physical, mental, and spiritual health. Life skills empower the nurse to develop and enhance a caring attitude in the nursing of patients. They enable the nurse to listen to beyond what the patient is saying, and to be assertive, manage conflict and make carefully considered decisions. Life skills develop emotional maturity, which includes honesty, openness, loyalty to people, kindness, keeping of promises and confidence. [9] Quasi experimental one-group pretest and post-test study conducted on effect of life skills on emotional reactions among medical students of Maragheh Islamic Azad University, of whom 40 nursing and midwifery students were selected through purposive sampling method. Findings showed that life skills education causes emotional reactions of students (anxiety, depression, and stress) to decrease. [10] A quasi experimental study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of instruction of academic and life skills on the 170 freshmen academic achievement. The results showed that the students who had received academic and life 1009 skills training gained significantly higher scores in life skills and academic achievement than those with no training. The study concluded that assessing and meeting student's life skills and academic achievement needs, especially in the first year of their study is very essential. [7] Materials and methods:-A Cross sectional descriptive survey design was used. All the first year B.Sc Nursing students of selected nursing college, Tamilnadu were the population of the study. By using convenience sampling technique 40 first year B.Sc. Nursing students who met the inclusion criteria were selected as samples. Data collection tool consisted of two parts. and very low (below 293). [3] Data was analyzed using both descriptive (frequency and percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (chi-square test). All statistical analysis was carried out at a 5% level of significance.
Ethical Clearance:-Permission was obtained from the Principal of selected nursing college. Informed consent was obtained from every participant after a brief explanation regarding the study. Confidentiality was maintained during the data collection.

Results in relation to socio demographic variables of students:-
With regard to socio demographic variables majority (75%) of them were in the age group of 18 years, 95% of them were females. 85% of them were days scholar, 25% of them were having more than 5 friends. 40% of students reported that their hobby was to listen to music and majority (92.5%) of them were not having any history of physical illness and 75% of students parents were staying together and belongs to nuclear family (72.5%). In relation to educational status of parents 32.5% of parents were having no formal education. Majorities (57.5%) of fathers were employed and 70 % of mothers were unemployed. 80% of students family monthly income was below Rs. 10000, 40% of them were having two siblings and 85% of them from rural area. 70% of students medium of instruction was English in school. With regard to reason for choosing nursing course 97.5% of them reported that they have joined because of their own interest. n=40.
The Table 1 represents the mean life skills scores of nursing students. The mean was 361 ±23, it indicate that they were having average life skills scores.  1011 unemployment (comprehension of abilities to apply for a job, presentation of themselves in written, confrontation of transient stages at work), 30.7% (44 students) in the sector of leisure time (positive evaluation of leisure time, evaluation of personal interests, energetic attendance in activities) and 35.1% (50 students) in the sector of health (consumption of nutritious components, consumption of alcohol, narcotic substances uptake, maintenance of a fit state). [12] The study conducted by Prajina.P.V and Godwin.J.Premsingh on life skills in relation to academic achievements of tribal children also reveals that more than half of the respondents (60%) possess average life skills and only few (2%) have high life skills scores. [13] The study results also showed that there is no association between life skills and socio demographic variables of first year nursing students.

Conclusion:-
The study concluded that majority of first year nursing students 30(75%) were having average life skills scores. They need some mode of training to enhance their life skills.