Abstract
BackgroundThe use of simulated patients (SPs) is considered a significant resource for teaching and assessing clinical and communication skills in health professional education. We conducted this study to explore pharmacy students’ perspective towards the utilization of SPs in Qatar and to identify areas that require improvement.MethodsAn explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used among students and recent graduates of the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University (QU-CPH). First, their perspectives toward the current utilization of SPs at QU-CPH was explored using a quantitative cross-sectional study design. Following this, we conducted six focus group discussions based on the analysis of the questionnaire results. The findings of the two phases were interpreted through integration of the quantitative and qualitative phases.ResultsThe majority of the participants (> 90%) reported that interactions with SPs are important in building good communication and counseling skills during professional skills course activities. Similarly, most of the respondents (80%) indicated that interactions with SPs prepared them to apply the clinical skills gained during professional skills and patient assessment sessions in real-life. In addition, they reported that interactions with SPs during competency-based assessments were good experiences. The participants disagreed with the notion that interaction with SPs of opposite gender was uncomfortable for them. Themes identified from the focus groups include: interactions with trained SPs compared to faculty SPs, standardization and consistency of SPs’ roles, communication and language barriers, simulations of real-life case scenarios, SPs’ competence and preparedness, psychological impact associated with interaction with SPs, proposed strategies for improving the SP program. Identified areas for improvement include the need for strengthening the SP training and orientation program as well as the SP selection criteria.ConclusionThis study showed a positive impact of the utilization of SPs in this pharmacy curriculum as perceived by students and alumni. However, the SP program needs to be optimized in terms of the training and orientation of SPs.
Highlights
The use of simulated patients (SPs) is considered a significant resource for teaching and assessing clinical and communication skills in health professional education
Qualitative phase Themes generated from the focus groups Seven major themes emerged from the focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted as part of this study, and these themes include the following: interactions with trained SPs compared to faculty SPs, standardization and consistency of SPs’ roles, communication and language barriers, simulations of real-life case scenarios, SPs’ competence and preparedness, the psychological impact associated with interaction with SPs, and proposed strategies for improving the SP program
We found that the use of SPs in patient assessment was rated highly in the quantitative part and during the FGDs
Summary
The use of simulated patients (SPs) is considered a significant resource for teaching and assessing clinical and communication skills in health professional education. The use of SPs is considered to be a significant resource for teaching and assessing clinical skills, including physical examination, communication, data gathering, patient counseling, and education [4, 5]. The commonest principal learning theories that are associated with and contribute to the design and practice of simulation-based learning include the behavioral, constructivist, and social cognitive conceptual frameworks [13, 14] These theoretical concepts consider the social character of simulation and allow for improved matching of simulation realism with desired outcomes when designing and conducting scenarios [14]. Curricular design and utilization of SPs in simulation-based learning should consider these conceptual frameworks
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