Assessing student confidence in interprofessional communication during primary care advanced pharmacy practice...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Interprofessional Communication
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• Effective interprofessional communication is crucial for pharmacy students.
• Developing these skills requires practical experience with healthcare professionals.
• Pharmacy school curricula should integrate communication training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess pharmacy student confidence in interprofessional communication.
• To evaluate the impact of advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) on communication skills.
• To utilize a Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR)-inspired rubric for self-assessment.

Main Methods:

• A six-item rubric was developed for student self-evaluation of interprofessional communication during APPEs.
• Students completed the rubric twice to measure changes in confidence.
• Pre- and post-rotation surveys assessed comfort levels in rounding and intervening with healthcare professionals.

Main Results:

• Mean self-evaluation scores significantly increased from 15.25/18 to 17.10/18 (P < .001).
• Student comfort in rounding and addressing medication-related problems with healthcare teams significantly improved (P < .001).
• Confidence increased across most rubric sections, excluding professional language.

Conclusions:

• Interprofessional communication practice, feedback, and rubric use enhance student confidence.
• Students demonstrated improved ability to make patient care recommendations to physicians.
• Structured learning experiences are vital for developing interprofessional communication competence in future pharmacists.