The Outcomes of Communication Training by a Clinical Psychologist for Junior Pharmacists

Objective: Basic communication skills are essential in all health personnel, including pharmacists. All junior pharmacists at Kurashiki Central Hospital undergo communication training, which is given by a clinical psychologist. In order to evaluate the outcomes of this training, we analyzed self-evaluation data for changes in professional communication skills, awareness and behavior before and after training.Methods: Training consisted of a lecture on communication skills with patients by a clinical psychologist and consequent role-play activities using a script. We conducted a self-evaluation questionnaire of pharmacist-patient interactions before and after training,from which we analyzed changes in self-evaluation. Each participant rated their own communication skills from 1 to 10 and both professional awareness and behavior from 1 to 5.Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in the mean rating for communication skills 3 months (6.47±1.23) and 9 months (6.68±1.08) after training compared to the same ratings before (4.85±1.49) and 1 month (5.45±1.60) after training (p＜0.01). Participants reported that lecture topics on silence, blank facial expressions, and lack of empathy to patients were particularily useful in improving their professional awareness skillset.Conclusion: Our study showed that the training enabled participants to extend their empathy and better estimate the personal feelings of patients. Communication skills training by a clinical psychologist seems especially useful for improving the basic communication skills in the pharmacist.