TY - JOUR
T1 - Nordic Pharmacy schools’ experience in communication skills training
AU - Svensberg, Karin
AU - Björnsdóttir, Ingunn
AU - Wallman, Andy
AU - Kälvemark Sporrong, Sofia
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - 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, evidence-based frameworks, experiential training, and scaffolding.
AB - 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, evidence-based frameworks, experiential training, and scaffolding.
U2 - 10.5688/ajpe6005
DO - 10.5688/ajpe6005
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29302085
SN - 0002-9459
VL - 81
JO - American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
JF - American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
IS - 9
M1 - 6005
ER -