Abstract
In the dynamic healthcare landscape, nurses must develop life skills beyond clinical expertise to provide effective patient care and ensure professional growth. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a structured life skills training program for first-year B.Sc. Nursing students in Tamil Nadu, India. This true experimental pre-test-post-test design study was conducted in six randomly selected nursing colleges in Trichy district, Tamil Nadu. The sample included 257 first-year B.Sc. Nursing students, with 126 in the experimental group and 131 in the control group. The eight-week Life Skills Training Program consisted of weekly two-hour sessions. The experimental group showed significant improvements in critical thinking (F=64.26, p<0.001), decision making (F=35.02, p<0.001), problem solving (F=77.54, p<0.001) and coping with emotions (F=39.03, p<0.001) compared to the control group. Associations were found between life skills and socio-demographic variables such as the number of friends, hobbies, reason for choosing nursing and interest in the course.