Introduction: Student-centered methods can improve nursing clinical education. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of teaching nurse-patient communication through role-play method on nursing students’ caring behaviors.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out in Hamedan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Four experimental groups (n=32) and four control groups (n=32) were randomly selected from 15 training groups. The experimental group received patient-nurse communication skills by means of role-play method. Demographic information questionnaire, communication skills checklist and Wolf’s caring behaviors questionnaires were completed before and after the training course. Data were analyzed by means of independent t-test, paired t-test and ANCOVA at 95% confidence level.

Results: At the beginning of the study, mean scores of caring behaviors and communication skills were 83.47±23.56 (total=220) and 3.87±1.86 (total=31) respectively in the control group and 77.87±29.34 and 4.78±2.37in the experimental group and were not significantly different (p>0.05). After the intervention, however, the mean scores of caring behaviors (172.28±15.14) and communication skills (26.22±2.86) in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Results indicated that implementation of role-play method improved the communication skills at the beginning of, during and after the communication and the caring behaviors among MSc nursing students.