Teaching conflict management: An approach to increasing students' value, confidence, and ability

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Communication Skills Training
• Conflict Resolution Pedagogy

Background:

• Effective conflict management is crucial for healthcare professionals.
• Existing curricula may not adequately address conflict resolution skills.
• Student pharmacists require training in navigating interpersonal and professional conflicts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an educational intervention for teaching conflict management to student pharmacists.
• To assess changes in students' perceived value, confidence, and ability in conflict management.
• To determine the effectiveness of a single classroom session in enhancing conflict management skills.

Main Methods:

• A consistent educational approach was delivered by three instructors at two universities.
• Second-year student pharmacists participated in a conflict management training session.
• A Likert-style survey assessed value, confidence, and ability pre- and post-intervention, with open-ended questions for perceptions.

Main Results:

• A high response rate of 91.5% (76/83 students) completed both pre- and post-intervention surveys.
• Reliability analyses showed strong internal consistency for all scales (Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.78 to 0.93).
• Statistically significant improvements were observed in students' value, confidence, and ability in conflict management.

Conclusions:

• A single educational intervention can significantly enhance student pharmacists' conflict management skills.
• The findings support the integration of targeted conflict management training in pharmacy curricula.
• Improving students' value, confidence, and ability in crucial conversations is achievable through focused instruction.