Our meta-analysis suggests that community pharmacist-led interventions can improve glycemic control in patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes. The most effective intervention components were patient centered and interdisciplinary. Pharmaceutical care interventions should, therefore, include the following components: sending feedback to the physician, setting individual goals, reviewing medication, and assessing patients' health beliefs and medication knowledge.

Pharmacists’ tasks are multifaceted and include, for example, vital counseling and communication skills. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) could be used to train pharmacy students in these skills. Our study sought to determine the efficacy of our OSCE training approach for training pharmacy students’ counseling and communication skills on diabetes mellitus compared to a control group. This randomized controlled study was conducted with pharmacy students using a pre-post-design. The intervention group completed diabetes OSCE training, while the control group solved diabetes patient cases using subjective, objective, assessment, and plan notes. Before and after the respective training, both groups completed OSCEs evaluating counseling and communication skills. Before each OSCE encounter, the participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire and, upon completion of the seminar, filled out a satisfaction survey. The OSCE-trained group demonstrated a significantly greater increase in counseling and communication skills and self-confidence than the control group. Both groups were generally satisfied with the seminar. These results demonstrate that our OSCE training approach allows for the effective training of pharmacy students’ diabetes counseling and communication skills and suggests the inclusion of such a skill-based approach more widely in pharmacy students’ education.

Background Pharmacists who engage in Pharmaceutical Care need skills to optimise responsible medication use and increase medication adherence. Objectives We developed and evaluated a blended-learning programme for German community pharmacists that focused on conducting consultations in chronic diseases. Setting Community pharmacists in Germany. Method Interventional study with pre-post design. We combined e-learning with Objective Standardised Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) for emergency situations, initiation/implementation of medication therapy and detection of symptoms of four chronic diseases. Specific procedures were defined in the Pharmaceutical Action Plan. Skills were measured with a global analytical marking sheet derived from the Medication Related Consultation Framework and scored with the Canadian criticality/relevancy matrix. Time limits matched real practice scenarios. Main outcome measures Changes in knowledge (difference of test results before and after e-learning) and changes in skills (difference in scores of the OSCEs before and after training). Results 22 out of the 26 pharmacists enrolled, completed the study. The number of correctly answered questions increased significantly after the e-learning for all four indications with a mean number of additional correct answers between 3.86 and 4.9 points out of 15 (p < 0.001). The sums of the analytical checklist points in percentages increased significantly in all topics from the baseline summative OSCE to the final summative OSCE between 6.14 and 31.85% (p < 0.001). The maximum duration of consultation per patient was less than 10 min in all OSCEs. Conclusion The use of e-learning and OSCEs was well received by participants and is a successful method to deliver practical Pharmaceutical Care training.

For reliable blood pressure measurement, various potential sources of inaccuracies need to be considered to avoid incorrect decision-making. Pharmacy students should be sensitized and taught the skill accordingly. One strategy to teach students’ blood pressure measurement skills might be through a blended learning approach in a flipped classroom-like setting. With a randomized two-arm study among pharmacy students in their eighth semester, the required extent of in-class session in the scope of a blended learning approach in a flipped classroom-like setting was evaluated. Participants’ self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency were evaluated through a survey, and participants’ blood pressure measurement performance was assessed by objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Participants’ satisfaction with, and perception of, the flipped classroom were also surveyed. The extended in-class activities did not result in a significantly higher increase of participants’ OSCE score and self-assessment score when compared to the brief in-class session. Both in-class sessions yielded a significant increase in the OSCE scores as well as in the self-assessment scores. Moreover, the teaching approaches were predominantly well-received by the students. The use of both flipped classroom-like approaches improved pharmacy students’ blood pressure measurement performance, though the brief in-class session was sufficient. Students’ self-confidence/self-perceived proficiency in blood pressure measurement skills increased similarly in both settings.

Introduction: Pharmacists play an important role in ensuring the safe, effective, and rational use of drugs in self-medication. Given the potential risks of self-medication, adequate training on self-medication counseling should be provided to pharmacy students during their academic education. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) could be used to train pharmacy students in these skills. This study evaluated the efficacy of an OSCE-based approach for training pharmacy students in self-medication counseling and communication skills. Methods: This randomized controlled study was conducted among pharmacy students using a pre-post design. The intervention group completed OSCE-based self-medication training, while the control group collected counseling-relevant information from summaries of product characteristics of over-the-counter drugs. The counseling and communication skills of both groups before and after training were assessed by completing OSCEs. The participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire on self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency before each OSCE encounter and a satisfaction survey at the end of the seminar. Results: Students were generally satisfied with the seminar. While the OSCE-trained group demonstrated significantly greater increases in counseling skills and self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency than the control group, both groups had similar increases in communication skills. Conclusion: The present study suggests that applying OSCEs as a learning tool for self-medication counseling is beneficial for improving students’ counseling skills as well as self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency. These results support the inclusion of OSCEs in pharmacy education and highlight its potential to bridge gaps between knowledge and practice.