Teaching Pharmacy Students and Residents Patient-Centered Care Through Interviewing Veterans

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Patient-Centered Care
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Patient-centered care is crucial in pharmacy practice.
• Traditional pharmacy curricula may not fully develop these competencies.
• The My Life, My Story program offers a novel approach to patient interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate the My Life, My Story program into pharmacy education.
• To evaluate the program's impact on patient-centered care competencies among learners.
• To assess learners' perceptions of the program's value and effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Fourth-year pharmacy students and residents participated.
• Learners interviewed patients and documented their life stories.
• Anonymous pre- and post-surveys assessed patient-centered care competencies.

Main Results:

• 34 learners completed 40 patient stories between 2016 and 2019.
• Significant improvements were reported in patient-storytelling, holistic patient view, and compassion.
• Most learners found the experience valuable for relationship-building.

Conclusions:

• The My Life, My Story program effectively enhances patient-centered care skills in pharmacy learners.
• This program fosters a more compassionate and holistic approach to patient care.
• Integrating such programs is beneficial for clinical pharmacy education.