Preparing pharmacy students to communicate effectively with adolescents

Abstract

Objectives To develop an elective workshop designed to equip pharmacy students with skills to effectively communicate with adolescents. To conduct preliminary evaluation of the workshop to assess its impact on pharmacy student perceived confidence and knowledge relating to the importance of adolescent counselling and counselling techniques. Methods Academics from three universities in three countries collaborated on the workshop development and evaluation. The workshop structure was designed upon the foundations of communication best practices and established techniques, and it consisted of two online modules and an in‐person tutorial. Pharmacy students undertaking a 4‐year Bachelor, Master or Doctor of Pharmacy degree from all three participating universities evaluated the workshop via pre‐ and post‐questionnaires. Key findings A total of 81 pharmacy students volunteered to attend and evaluate the workshop. Of these 81 students, 31 completed paired pre‐ and post‐questionnaires, 44 students completed unpaired questionnaires and six students were lost to follow‐up. Of the paired pre‐ and post‐questionnaires, students were mostly female (67.7%) with an average age of 24.9 years (standard deviation, SD = 5.6) and were in the first (32.3%), second (16.1%) or third (51.6%) year of their pharmacy programme. Over 80% of students somewhat or strongly agreed that the workshop made them feel more comfortable speaking with young people in pharmacy settings. Mean (SD) perceived confidence (pre = 21.7 (4.0) and post = 24.9 (4.5)) and knowledge scores (pre = 5.2 (1.5) and post = 6.6 (1.6)) significantly improved after undertaking the workshop. Conclusions The workshop increased pharmacy student perceived confidence and knowledge relating to the importance of adolescent counselling and counselling techniques.

Paired or Pooled Analyses in Continuing Medical Education, Which One is Better?

“…The questionnaire, composed of 5-point Likert scale items, true/false, and multiple-choice questions, evaluated the perceived confidence and knowledge of students who participated in a workshop on communicating effectively with adolescents in a pharmacy setting. The authors report a significantly lower pre-knowledge score in the pooled group compared to the paired group, potentially due to diversity in educational and experiential backgrounds [ 3 ].…”

“…For example, in studies with small sample sizes, using pooled data to analyse intricate results may reveal early insights that paired data cannot [ 2 ]. Likewise, participant heterogeneity and homogeneity may influence the need for paired or pooled analyses [ 3 ]. To date, there is limited research on what type of analysis is ideal in continuing medical education (CME).…”

Qualitative investigation of the flipped classroom teaching approach as an alternative to the traditional lecture

“…Students perceived that flipped classroom teaching approach could potentially assist them to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional lecture including the lack of student engagement and the pace of instructions. This approach could then see the same content taught across countries where content is relevant, such as in the Pharmalliance programme (Gilmartin-Thomas et al, 2019). Additionally, the flipped classroom could help students understand the taught subject and prepare for summative assessment.…”

Addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in rural community pharmacies: a protocol for a stepped wedge randomized clinical trial

“…Specifically, a trial website will include numerous tools, including example vaccine hesitancy verbiage, sample workflows, marketing materials, and patient pamphlets. The standard approach also includes an online training module developed by the trial team that incorporates similar instructional design principles that have been used previously to develop pharmacist communication-focused modules [ 56 , 57 ]. Finally, just prior to the start time of each block of pharmacies, participants will attend a live webinar with continuing education (CE) credit that includes interactive training on the intervention, updated vaccination recommendations, vaccine storage and delivery, and documentation.…”