Simulated Live Interpreter-Patient Encounters: Impact on Pharmacy Students' Communication Skills and Confidence

To measure the impact of a skills-based laboratory simulation on students' self-assessed skills and confidence in using best practices for communication through a medical interpreter.

This retrospective, single-institution study was conducted at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. Subjects included third-year Doctor of Pharmacy students enrolled in a skills-based laboratory course from 2022 to 2024. Students received a recorded lecture on best practices for using medical interpretation services, followed by a presurvey. Students then completed a simulated encounter involving a standardized patient with limited English proficiency and a live simulated interpreter. After the simulation, the volunteer interpreter and standardized patient completed an evaluation of the students' performance, and the students completed a postsurvey in which they self-assessed their knowledge and performance of best practices on a 4-point Likert scale and their level of confidence in doing so on a 3-point Likert scale. Facilitator evaluations of student performance were compared with the students' self-assessed competence to assess agreement and differences in perceived performance, and the variance was analyzed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to describe the change in self-assessed skills before and after the live simulation.

A total of 353 students in their third professional year across 3 graduating classes completed the simulation. Across all 3 classes, there were statistically significant improvements in self-assessed competency and in self-assessed confidence in using best practices for interpreter use after the simulation.

Simulated patient encounters that incorporate a live interpreter increase students' self-assessed confidence and competence in the appropriate use of language interpreters during patient care.