Evaluating students' empathy perception and clinical performance through simulation in an ambulatory care elective

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Medical Simulation
• Empathy in Healthcare

Background:

• Ambulatory care electives are crucial for developing clinical skills.
• Simulation-based learning experiences (SBLE) offer immersive training environments.
• Assessing empathy and patient care processes is vital in pharmacy education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of SBLE with standardized patients (SP) on pharmacy students' self-perceived empathy.
• To compare faculty and student perceptions of empathy during SBLE.
• To assess the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP) and Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) in written versus simulated patient interactions.

Main Methods:

• The study involved a simulation-based learning experience (SBLE) in an ambulatory care elective.
• The Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES) was used to measure student-reported empathy pre- and post-SBLE.
• Faculty assessments and rubric scores for SDoH and PPCP were compared between written notes and SBLE performance.

Main Results:

• Student-reported empathy scores (KCES) significantly increased after the SBLE.
• Faculty-observed empathy scores were lower than student self-assessments during the SBLE.
• Scores for SDoH and PPCP were lower during SBLE compared to written SOAP notes.

Conclusions:

• SBLE with SPs enhances pharmacy students' perception of their empathy.
• A discrepancy exists between student self-perception and faculty observation of empathy.
• SBLE is a valuable tool for preparing pharmacy students for practice, though further refinement may be needed to align perceived and demonstrated skills.