Nordic Pharmacy schools’ experience in communication skills training

Karin Svensberg; Ingunn Björnsdóttir; Andy Wallman; Sofia Kälvemark Sporrong

doi:10.5688/ajpe6005

Nordic Pharmacy schools’ experience in communication skills training

Karin Svensberg, Ingunn Björnsdóttir, Andy Wallman, Sofia Kälvemark Sporrong

9 Citations (Scopus)

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, evidence-based frameworks, experiential training, and scaffolding.

Original language	English
Article number	6005
Journal	American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Volume	81
Issue number	9
Number of pages	12
ISSN	0002-9459
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe6005
Publication status	Published - 2017

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title = "Nordic Pharmacy schools{\textquoteright} 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{\textquoteright} 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.",

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year = "2017",

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T1 - Nordic Pharmacy schools’ experience in communication skills training

AU - Svensberg, Karin

AU - Björnsdóttir, Ingunn

AU - Wallman, Andy

AU - Kälvemark Sporrong, Sofia

PY - 2017

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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.

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Nordic Pharmacy schools’ experience in communication skills training

Abstract

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