Nursing staff’s English language communication skills in Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) Hospital Wah Cantt, Rawalpindi-Pakistan: A need analysis

Communication in English language is important for the better service delivery and job performance of nursing staff in a hospital setting where foreign patients mostly seek treatments. In this regard, the current study has been carried out to study the needs of POF hospital nursing staff’s English language communication skills. For this, data were collected from 20 nurses. Data were recorded through two Likert scale types i.e., 4 point (very important, fairly important, important, not important at all) and 5 points (very weak, weak, fair, good, very good). Data were analyzed through frequencies and percentages mainly. It has been found that nurses have weak speaking and listening skills which are required in the situations like handling educated and foreign patients, attending telephone calls, providing advice, providing instructions, laboratory testes explanation, explaining drug interactions, and medication administration to patients. For the target situations like better understanding of medicine, patient care, duties, medical treatment, and diseases nurses require English language proficiency or effective communication skills. Group work and learning in a class were the most reported activities by the nurses. It shows that English language communication for the nursing staff is of very much importance and thus a special course or syllabus must be designed for them which targets to improve their speaking and listening skills mainly so that they might be effectively deliver their services in the respective hospital.