A structured approach for teaching students to counsel self-care patients

To determine whether the use of a structured interviewing framework improved students' ability to treat self-care patients.

First-professional year pharmacy students (P1) in their first quarter of Pharmacy Practice Skills Development were taught self-care through a series of 4 modules. In each module students' content knowledge and application were assessed using quizzes and role-play scenarios, respectively. During the second module, a structured interview model (QuEST process) was presented by the instructor and students were tested on the same content and role-play used in module 1.

Sixty-four students completed the 4 self-care modules. Quiz scores improved from the first to the second module (75.8% vs. 88.4%, p < 0.001). Mean role-play scores also significantly improved after learning the QuEST process.

The QuEST process is an effective tool to teach students how to counsel patients with self-care issues.