[Training pharmacy students to conduct targeted interviews on oral anticoagulants: Development and evaluation of...

Pharmaceutical care for patients receiving oral anticoagulants (OACs) should be performed by trained healthcare professionals to prevent adverse effects and improve patient adherence. Before meeting patients, all pharmacy students in our department (in a one-year hospital internship program) experienced a theoretical training for several years. It was decided to add a practical component based on simulation training. The study reports the simulation program conception and the assessment of the simulation-based training for pharmacy students involved in conducting interviews with patients receiving ACOs.

Organization and content of the training course were defined by two hospital pharmacists and one pharmacy resident. Skills' assessment was measured in pharmacy students in 3 steps: (1) initial assessment by individual interview, (2) group training by simulation, (3) final assessment by individual interview. Student satisfaction was also assessed at the end of the training.

Four scenarios and one assessment form were developed and 16 pharmacy students experienced the training. An improvement in skills after the simulations courses was observed in all parts of the process: the pre-interview (mean +15%), the interview itself (+16%) and the post-interview (+18%). All students felt more comfortable and motivated to conduct interviews and recommended that this training be continued.

The study underlines the impact of the simulation training on students' skills and their satisfaction with the overall training program. The simulation training is now fully added to the program. Further studies should explore the skills improvement in real life during the first patient interview.