We have introduced a communication training program using problem-based learning (PBL) and simulated patients (SP) as a new teaching approach for pharmacy students.The communication training consisted of 5 processes involving 3 clinical scenarios that we designed (patient #1 : smoking cessation instruction,patient #2 ; taking anamnesis in pharmacy,patient #3 ; explanation of over-the-counter drug including health consultation).For smoking cessation instruction,first,the students were given the scenario and discussed how to solve the problems in small groups (process 1,2 and 3).They then shared the information collected by each group and prepared an instruction sheet for role-playing (process 4 and 5).In the roleplaying,students played the part of the pharmacist and received feedback from SP.
Afterwards,we conducted a questionnaire survey of the students’impressions of the training using the Learning Management System and subjected the results to CS analysis in order to determine the areas of the communication program needing improvement.The evaluation of the program with regard to the role-playing with the SP and the feedback from them after it produced some interesting and significant results,with students feeling that the procedure for providing the feedback and teacher engagement in the small group discussion (SGD) required the most improvement (ratings of 10.22 and 5.10,respectively).These results indicate that our communication training program utilizing PBL and SP is a useful way for students to acquire communication skills and of increasing their motivation towards such training.
