Using Visual Thinking Strategies to Support Development of Pharmacy Student Competency in Person-Centered Care

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the introduction of ten Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) sessions into Year 2 of our BPharm programme with the aim of assisting students to develop skills and attitudes required for inclusive practice. Methods. The evaluation used a cross-sectional study design. All members of the first two successive student cohorts completing multiple VTS sessions were asked to consent for their evaluation responses to be used for research purposes. Each completed a 38-item online reflective questionnaire exploring student perceptions of competency development, transference and session acceptability. Closed-question responses were analysed in Excel to produce descriptive statistics. Free-text responses were categorised and quantified using an inductive approach and manifest content analysis. Results. The responses of 56% (n=98/147) students were analysed. Students generally believed the sessions had supported the development of the person-centred communication, cultural competence and critical thinking skills surveyed. The minimum level of agreement with an improvement occurring was 74.5%. Free-text responses revealed the perception of additional skill and attitude development. Sixty percent of participants had thought about the VTS questions or used what they had learned in the VTS sessions in other settings. Eighty six percent of students agreed that VTS should remain in the curriculum. Conclusion.Incorporating regular VTS sessions into Year 2 of the BPharm programme appears to be acceptable to students. Data suggest inclusion of multiple VTS sessions are a valuable addition to health curriculum, offering affective learning experiences which support development and transference of key skills and attitudes relating to provision of inclusive person-centred care.

Art and Heritage Culture: A High-Quality Inclusive Educational Experience in One Public School in Barcelona

“…On the one hand, it aids in the construction of the intrapersonal world, such as value construction (Raaijmakers et al, 2021) and civic value development (Moreno-Vera & Cruz, 2022), emotion expression (Zapata et al, 2017) and identifying and managing (Iribarren et al, 2021), self-efficiency construction (Cappello et al, 2019), finding and realizing personal character and interest (Tackett et al, 2023). On the other hand, VTS has a positive influence on basic interpersonal skills, such as appreciating Others' Perspectives (Campbell et al, 2022) and improving communication skills (Albert et al, 2022;Aspden et al, 2022;Cappello & Walker, 2016;Deroo, 2022;Moeller et al, 2013), enhancing awareness of the social problem (Balhara et al, 2023), developing culture competence (Aspden et al, 2022), moving away the invisible barriers in teamworking in intercultural context (Murdoch-Kitt & Emans, 2021), and motivating social brain function (Dalia et al, 2020;van Leeuwen et al, 2023).…”

Visual Thinking Strategies—Theory and Applied Areas of Insertion

“…Consequently, this review aims at identifying higher-education areas in which the application of the VTS procedure is rather lacking, although students would highly benefit from it if this were not the case. In order to do so, and having as a starting point VTS theoretical conceptualization, the relevant research work has been considered from the point of view of applied VTS situations, taking into account not only published research articles in various fields of higher education (such as pharmacy [4]), but also VTS web clustering [5]. Moreover, another aim of the review is that of underlying the main benefits of using VTS for developing students' different abilities, especially in the case of university levels, with significant emphasis on communication and observation skills that could be further transferred in the specific domain of the students' future professional communities [6], as well as on developing specific vocabulary and cohesion structures.…”

Utilizing art exhibits as a low-stakes activity to improve teamwork experiences

“…In recent years, guided facilitations of VTS have been implemented in the medical field. Research shows that after VTS experiences, medical and dental students' ability to accurately describe clinical findings increases [10], nursing students feel more empowered to speak up to their supervisors [11], positive attitude increases in pharmacy students [12], and one becomes more tolerance of ambiguity and objectivity [13].…”