Nordic Pharmacy Schools’ Experience in Communication Skills Training

Abstract

Objective. To assess communication skills training at Nordic pharmacy schools and explore ways for improvement.Methods. E-mail questionnaires were developed and distributed with the aim to explore current practice and course leaders' opinions regarding teaching of patient communication skills at all the 11 master level Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) pharmacy schools. The questionnaires contained both closed-and open-ended questions.Results. There was a variation of patient communication skills training among schools. In general, communication skills training was included in one to five courses (mode 1); varied in quantity (6-92 hours); had low use of experiential training methods; and had challenges regarding assessments and acquiring sufficient resources. However, some schools had more focus on such training. Conclusion. The results show room for improvement in patient communication skills training in most Nordic pharmacy schools and give insights into how to enhance communication skill building in pharmacy curricula. Suggestions for improving the training include: early training start, evidencebased frameworks, experiential training, and scaffolding.

Nordic Pharmacy Students’ Opinions of their Patient Communication Skills Training

“…All schools reported providing training in the teacher survey by Svensberg and colleagues, whereas many students from this study were frustrated at not having received any training at all, or only in the PPE. 21 This indicates that students and teachers conceptualize PCST differently. Similarly, 21 Further, this study showed that few students thought they had received enough and appropriate feedback.…”

“…21 This indicates that students and teachers conceptualize PCST differently. Similarly, 21 Further, this study showed that few students thought they had received enough and appropriate feedback. Feedback was mentioned in several of the open-ended questions as highly valuable and students asked for more individual feedback, both at their pharmacy school and during the PPE.…”

“…In the Nordic context, Finnish pharmacy schools have invested substantial resources in, and conducted extensive research on, patient communication teaching and their inclusion would have added valuable insights to the analysis. 21,44,[46][47][48] They were excluded because few responded to the questionnaire. It should be noted that it was the students' own perceptions of patient communication training that were measured, and not their actual behavior, and what methods they thought were effective, and not necessarily what is most effective.…”

“…34 Based on reports from course leaders responsible for mandatory training in each school, PCST was used as an exposure measure. 21 Course leaders were asked to provide information on mandatory courses with an explicit focus on communication with patients and/or other health care professions. All schools had PCST in the PPE course.…”

“…[16][17][18][19][20] In another study, Nordic course leaders were surveyed on the current training practice and their opinions regarding teaching of patient communication skills in Nordic pharmacy schools. 21 The course leaders reported a need for increased training.…”