Pharmacist-patient conversations

Question

How can we improve the communicative competences of our students in professional settings in a structural way?

Research

Niek Hummel, a student in Communication and Information Sciences, videotaped and analysed conversations between pharmaceutical students and their patients in a role play setting regarding medication that is available without doctor's prescription. His analysis lead to advices regarding the structuring and the content of the conversation.

It showed for example that:

the form of the question was often less important than expected;

explicitely structuring the conversation improved understanding;

warning patients what to do if the medicine wasn't working properly was often forgotten.

Client for this research

Teachers of the Pharmacetical department of the University of Groningen