Course in Drug Literature, Communication Increases Student Pharmacist Confidence

A seminar course designed to strengthen the ability of third-year pharmacy students to evaluate drug literature and communicate with other health care professionals boosted their confidence in the skills, according to a study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice.

“Competent pharmacy practice requires the ability to critically evaluate the medical literature and communicate pharmacotherapy information and recommendations to health care practitioners,” wrote first author Kimberly L. Barefield, PharmD, of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and coauthors.

The study surveyed 68 students both before and after the course on their self-perceived confidence in the domains of communication and literature evaluation. Participation in the surveys was voluntary and did not affect a student’s grade.

In the pre-course survey, pharmacy students slightly agreed they were confident in their communication and literature evaluation skills, according to the study. Communicating drug interaction was the area they felt the least confident in.

After the post-course survey, pharmacy students expressed significantly more confidence in 15 out of 20 areas.

“The seminar course resulted in a positive change in students’ perception of confidence to communicate with health care professionals and ability to evaluate drug literature,” researchers concluded.

Reference:

Barefield KL, Champion C, Yang L, Rollins B. Student Pharmacists Self-Perceived Confidence in Communication Skills With Healthcare Practitioners Before and After a Seminar Course [published online ahead of print, 2021 May 21]. J Pharm Pract. 2021;8971900211018430. doi:10.1177/08971900211018430