Assessment of Curricular Integration of Compassionate Communication in Pharmacy Training

Cultivating compassionate communication skills in health care enhances quality patient care and health outcomes, while improving the experiences of health care trainees and professionals. Given the limited research on compassionate communication within pharmacy training, this study assessed the impact of a novel compassionate communication curriculum at the University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Compassionate communication training sessions were integrated across all 4 years of pharmacy school curriculum. Sessions were tailored to the experience levels of cohorts to promote compassionate communication skills in health care settings. Sessions included information sharing, engaging demonstrations and videos, skill-building exercises, and self-reflection. Participants were invited to complete pre and postsurveys, including select items from the Compassionate Engagement and Action Scale, along with measures of confidence and likelihood of applying learned skills.

A total of 273 student pharmacists participated in the curriculum, with 237 (86.8%) completing the presurvey and 234 completing the postsurvey (85.7%). Pre and postsurveys were successfully matched for 151 participants, yielding a matched response rate of 55.3%. Post-training, participants demonstrated significant improvements in compassionate engagement and action toward self and others, perceived confidence in demonstrating compassionate communication within interprofessional teams, and the likelihood of incorporating compassionate communication in patient-centered care.

Implementing a compassionate communication curriculum within pharmacy education is a feasible and valuable approach to fostering compassion and collaboration, with downstream benefits for students, future pharmacist leaders, patients, and health care teams.