Measure of empathy change in pharmacy students through a behaviour change assignment
Keywords:
Behaviour Change, Empathy, Pharmacy StudentAbstract
Background: Current standards for pharmacy education include developing skills in empathy as a part of curriculum.
Aims: The primary purpose of this research was to assess whether a behaviour change assignment resulted in increased empathy in pharmacy students as evaluated by a validated empathy scoring system.
Methods: Pharmacy students completed a pre-assessment utilising the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale. Students were then given a behaviour change assignment where each student chose a personal behaviour to change for a ten days followed by a post-assessment utilising the same tool.
Results: Pharmacy students achieved a statistically significant improvement in empathy score after completing the behaviour change assignment (p<0.011) with a response rate of 81.3%. Age, gender, campus, or nature of the behaviour change did not predict results.
Conclusions: A behaviour change assignment that utilised minimal classroom time and resources without relation to a specific disease state resulted in increased empathy in pharmacy students.
References
Accreditation Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree. (2006). Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Released February 17, 2006 (online). Accessed February 2014. Available at: http:// www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf/FinalS2007Guidelines2.0.pdf. Accessed 20th January, 2015.
Chen, A.M.H., Plake, K.S., Yehle, K.S., Kiersma, M.E. (2011). Impact of geriatrics medication games on pharmacy students’ attitudes towards older adults. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75(8), Article 158.
Chen, J., LaLopa, J. & Dang, D. (2008). Impact of patient empathy modeling on pharmacy students caring for the underserved. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72(2), Article 40.
Fjortoft, N., Van Winkle, L.J. & Hojat, M. (2011). Measuring empathy in pharmacy students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75(6), Article 109.
Kaplan, S.H., Greenfield, S. & Ware, J.E. (1989). Assessing the effects of physician-patient interactions on the outcomes of chronic disease. Medical Care, 27(3 Suppl), S110-S127.
Kiersma, M.E., Chen, A.M.H., Yehle, K.S. & Plake, K.S. (2013) Validation of an empathy scale in pharmacy and nursing students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 77(5), Article 94.
Maffeo, C., Chase, P., Brown, B., Tuohy, K. & Kalsekar, I. (2009). My first patient program to introduce first-year pharmacy students to health promotion and disease prevention. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73(6), Article 97.
Manolakis, M.L., Olin, J.L., Thornton, P.L., Dolder, C.R. & Hanrahan, C. (2010). A module on death and dying to develop empathy in student pharmacists. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(4), Article 71.
Medina, M.S., Plaza, C.M., Stowe, C.D., Robinson, E.T., DeLander, G., Beck, D.E., Melchert, R.B., Supernaw, R.B., Roche, V.F., Gleason, B.L., Strong, M.N., Bain, A., Meyer, G.E., Dong, B.J., Rochon, J. & Johnston, P. (2013). Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes 2013 (online). American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. http:// www.aacp.org/resources/education/cape/Open%20Access %20Documents/CAPEoutcomes2013.pdf. Accessed 20th January, 2015.
Nigg, C.R., Allegrante, J.P. & Ory, M. (2002). Theory- comparison and multiple-behavior research: common themes advancing health behavior research. Health Education Research.17(5):670-679.
Nunes, P., Williams, S., Sa, B. & Stevenson, K. (2011). A study of empathy decline in students from five health disciplines during their first year of training. International Journal of Medical Sciences, 2, 12-17.
Ory, M.G., Jordan, P.J. & Bazzare, T. (2002). The behaviour change consortium: setting the state for a new century of health behaviour-change research. Health Education Research, 17(5), 500-511.
Roter, D.L., Hall, J.A., Merisca, R., Nordstorm, B., Cretin, D. & Svarstad, B. (1998). Effectiveness of interventions to improve patient compliance: a meta- analysis. Medical Care, 36(8), 1138-1161.
Stepian, K.A. & Baernstein, A. (2006). Educating for empathy: a review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(5), 524-539.
Trujilo, J.M. & Hardy, Y. (2009) A nutrition journal and diabetes shopping experiences to improve pharmacy students’ empathy and cultural competence. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73(2), Article 37
Van Winkle, L.J., Fjortoft, N. & Hojat, M. (2012). Impact of a workshop about aging on the empathy scores of pharmacy and medical students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 76(1), Article 9.
Vermeire, E., Hearnshaw, H., Van Royen, P. & Denekens, J. (1998). Patient adherence to treatment: three. decades of research. A comprehensive review. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 26(5), 31-342
Wilkes, M., Milgrom, E. & Hoffman, J. (2002) Towards more empathic medical students; a medical student hospitalization experience. Medical Education, 36, 528-33.
Wilson, S.E., Prescott, J. & Becket, G. (2012). Empathy levels in first- and third-year students in health and non- health disciplines. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 76(2), Article 24.
