Development of coupled patient care experience courses to enhance patient care skills in the ambulatory and acute care settings

Background and purpose: Providing opportunities to allow pharmacy students to apply clinical skills is essential to ensure that they are comfortable and competent to perform these skills during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) and in practice. We describe unique coupled courses that require students to apply clinical skills during real patient encounters and simulation activities in the ambulatory and acute care setting to ensure that they are ready for APPEs. Educational activity and setting: New required courses were developed at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy that focused on teaching and reinforcing patient care skills in the ambulatory and acute care settings. Both courses were designed to provide students with multiple opportunities to offer supervised patient care and to become more comfortable and confident in their patient care skills. Findings: The coupled courses were well-received by students. Feedback indicated that students felt more comfortable in these patient care settings and in performing patient care activities as a result of these courses. Summary: These coupled courses offered multiple opportunities for students to practice patient care skills and gain valuable experience participating in activities that increased their confidence and competence at being integral members of the healthcare team. The interactions with real patients, simulated patient scenarios, standardized patients, and other members of the healthcare team helped students advance communication skills, clinical skills, and ability to identify and resolve medication-related problems in preparation for APPEs.