The objective of the present study was to develop a scale to evaluate communication skills, including counseling skills. First, a total of 60 items related to skill evaluation were extracted from studies on counseling and communication skills. Then, in order to extract items related to nursing students from these 60 items, items with low discriminability were eliminated, and based on content validity, some items were eliminated or modified. Consequently, a total of 30 items were extracted for evaluating communication skills. Second, items related to nursing students were identified from the 30 items. The results were as follows : (1) Five items with a correlation coefficient of less than 0.5 were eliminated, and a statistical analysis was performed using the other 25 items. (2) The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.94, and as a result, reliability was ensured. (3) A good-poor analysis confirmed the internal consistency of the items. (4) A factor analysis confirmed construct validity and internal consistency. Hence, we obtained a 25-item scale for evaluating communication skills.

　This paper is an evaluation of the results attained by nursing students having completed the CAI self-study teaching materials programme. The subjects were 49 first-year junior college women students, of whom 22 wera classified into experimental group and 27 into control group respectively.

　The results were as follows :

(1)After having completed the programme, the students showed an improvement in their total scores for the VCSI (Verbal Communication Skills Inventory), and the scores in the VCSI second factor (Evaluating Your Partner's Speech), as well as in the fourth factor (Confirming Your Partner's Speech, Behaviour and Emotions).

(2)After having completed the programme, analysis of the students' responses to patients' questions in five situations revealed that the number of utterances showed some decrease in the second factor and some increase in the fourth factor.

(3)The correct responses reached over 80% even at the time of the first trial, and there was also a difference in the ratio of correct responses according to the questions.

　These results may not only prove the usefulness of this programme, but also suggest the areas requiring further improvement and development in the future.

Notes: VCSI was designed as an evaluation scale for the verbal communication skills of professional nurses by one of the authors. In this questionnaire are contained 33 items each consist of one sentense.

　The purpose of this study was to clarify the factors associated with learning of technical skills in nursing. We carried out a survey of the degree of importance attached to and the degree of self-assessed skillfulness at 11 technical skills in 72 nurses who attended a rehabilitation nursing study meeting, and performed the statistical analysis on the data. The results were as follows:

1. The degree of importance attached to rehabilitation nursing skills was an important factor associated with the degree of self-assessed skillfulness at these skills. These results suggest that high motivation for learning, such as awareness of the issues and interest. are important in learning rehabilitation nursing skills.

2. Attendance to continuing education was associated with the degree of importance attached to or the degree of self-assessed skillfulness at these skills. Learning with previous experience may be effective for understanding and learning rehabilitation nursing skills.

3. Experience in the clinical setting was an important factor associated with the degree of selfassessed skillfulness at rehabilitation nursing skills.

　This study was conducted among students of each grade in a nursing college to clarify differ ences in students' images of the demented elderly, and views regarding nursing such people, and factors that affect these ideas. Subjects were 49 first-year. 50 second-year. and 32 third-year students of the nursing department of a junior college who consented to take part in this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire, and were then coded and categorized.

　The results were as follows:

1)The first-and second-year students had negative images of the demented elderly, whereas third-year students had positive ones, and could succeed in viewing them as a whole being without prejudice.

2)First-year students considered nursing of the demented elderly as being difficult. Second-year students had become aware of the importance of supporting and respecting each elderly demented person as an individual. Third-year students understood that such care and nursing is a fundamental human activity based on supportive human relations.

3)Images of the demented elderly and views of their nursing were markedly affected, among the first-year students. by the mass media and students' own experiences of their closely related demented elderly ; by the mass media and the experience in nursing training classes for the second-year students ; and by the experience of nursing training classes for the third-year students.