An interactive workshop for first year pharmacy students on caring for visually impaired patients: Development,...

Patients with disabilities, such as those are visually impaired (VI), require an individualised approach to care by pharmacists. However, disability awareness training is not widely implemented across modern pharmacy curricula. To address this gap, a workshop was developed for first year students focusing on caring for VI patients.

A two-hour workshop was developed, using a mixture of didactic teaching, active learning activities and group work exercises. Workshop elements included; tasks involving braille, VI patient experience videos, use of low vision simulation glasses and a group exercise involving VI patient counselling. Student opinions were obtained using an online questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and conventional content analysis.

The response rate was 94.6% (70/74 students). The session was positively received with 60.0% (n = 42) extremely satisfied and 40.0% (n = 28) satisfied. The highest number of students were extremely satisfied with the low vision simulation glasses exercise (60.0%, n = 42). Most students (97.2%, n = 68) either strongly agreed or agreed that the workshop increased their confidence to communicate with VI patients. All students (100%, n = 70) strongly agreed/agreed that they will apply the knowledge and skills gained in their future practice. Almost all (98.6%, n = 69), would welcome wider implementation of disability training. Students provided various recommendations for minor workshop improvements in open text comments.

Students who undertook the workshop strongly supported inclusion of disability training in their course. This work highlights how simulation activities and inclusion of a patient voice can effectively promote the human aspects of healthcare.