The Effects of Participation in a Transitions of Care Simulation on Pharmacy Students' Empathy

Objective. To assess the effects of a transitions of care simulation on the empathy of pharmacy students.Methods. Pharmacy students volunteered to complete a four-hour transitions of care simulation. Students were "discharged" from a simulation hospital by trained actors posing as health care providers and provided with a discharge packet, prescriptions, bus route, and bus pass. Students navigated public transportation to obtain discharge medications at a community pharmacy and then returned "home" to debrief with study investigators. Demographics were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES) was administered pre- and post-simulation, along with open-ended questions.Results. Median composite empathy scores on the KCES increased significantly from 92 to 98 following completion of the simulation. Significant increases were seen on four of the 15 questionnaire items on which themes largely involved taking patients' feelings into account when making therapeutic decisions. These four items were: "I will not allow myself to be influenced by someone's feelings when determining the best treatment," "I have difficulty identifying with someone else's feelings," "It is necessary for a health care practitioner to be able to view the world from another person's perspective," and "A health care practitioner should not be influenced by someone's feelings when determining the best treatment."Conclusion. Results of this pilot study demonstrated a significant increase in pharmacy students' overall empathy. Replicating this experiment on a larger scale may provide further insight regarding the impact of participating in simulations on transitions of care on pharmacy students' empathy.