Evaluación de la Integración Curricular de la Comunicación Compasiva en la Formación Farmacéutica

Cultivating compassionate communication skills in healthcare enhances quality patient care and health outcomes, while improving the experiences of healthcare 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 four years of pharmacy school curricula. Sessions were tailored to the experience levels of cohorts to promote compassionate communication skills in healthcare settings. Sessions included information sharing, engaging demonstrations and videos, skill-building exercises, and self-reflection. Participants were invited to complete pre- and post-surveys, 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 pharmacy students participated in the curriculum, with 237 (86.8%) completing the pre-survey and 234 completing the post-survey (85.7%). Pre- and post-surveys 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 healthcare teams.