Bradley Courtney L, Schwartz Shaina E, Cooper Julie B
High Point University Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, 1 University Parkway, High Point, NC 27685, United States.
Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2021 Aug;13(8):1032-1039. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2021.06.020. Epub 2021 Jul 1.
Communicating uncertainty is an art requiring practice. The purpose of this study was to compare pedagogies for the instruction of pharmacy students in communicating definitive uncertainty.
A case scenario featuring a busy physician asking a question without a definitive answer was directed to the pharmacy student using two pedagogies: (1) in-person standardized client and (2) virtual written case. Students provided self-assessments of their confidence in communicating uncertainty after completing the case utilizing a survey containing both rating scale questions and open-ended questions. Self-confidence within-group differences were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and between-group differences were compared using Mann-Whitney U tests. Responses to open-ended questions were descriptively analyzed for themes using qualitative assessment methods.
Both the in-person standardized client (70 to 81, P ≤ .001) and the virtual written case (74 to 85, P ≤ .001) significantly increased students' self-rated confidence to verbalize "I don't know" to a healthcare provider. No significant differences were observed between the pedagogies. However, students who participated in the virtual written case mentioned a desire for "additional practice opportunities" more frequently than students who participated in the in-person standardized client.
In-person standardized client and virtual written case are effective methods for increasing pharmacy student comfort with communicating definitive uncertainty. Further research is needed to instruct pharmacists in uncertainty communication.
