An Applied Linguistics Study of How Students Prevent Embarrassments and Impositions During Interactive Examination...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy education
• Communication skills
• Linguistics

Background:

• Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are crucial for assessing pharmacy students' clinical competence.
• Effective communication, including politeness strategies, is vital for patient-centered care and can impact patient experience.
• Politeness Theory (PT) provides a framework for understanding how individuals manage social interactions and maintain face needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the politeness strategies employed by pharmacy students during OSCEs.
• To determine the effectiveness of these strategies in mitigating face-threatening acts (FTAs) towards mock patients.
• To identify areas for improvement in pharmacy students' communication skills training.

Main Methods:

• Video recordings of 19 OSCEs involving 10 pharmacy students and mock patients were analyzed.
• Participant speech acts were coded using Politeness Theory, categorizing FTAs and politeness strategies.
• Conversation Analysis assessed the effectiveness of strategies based on mock patient responses.

Main Results:

• Students predominantly used negative politeness strategies to minimize impositions, aligning with their training.
• Positive politeness strategies were employed to prevent patient embarrassment, but with less consistent success.
• Students demonstrated less awareness of how discussing sensitive topics could cause patient embarrassment and distress.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacy students are adept at avoiding impositions but need enhanced training in managing patient embarrassment during sensitive discussions.
• Developing teaching and evaluation methods that incorporate patients' face needs is essential for improving pharmacy students' communication skills.
• Further research into patient perceptions of politeness strategies in pharmacy OSCEs is warranted.