Teaching and Assessing Primary Care Skills: The Family Practice Simulator Model

Abstract

Objectives. To describe development of a Family Practice Simulator (FPS), an interprofessional curricular innovation in which physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals work with standardized patients over the course of a simulated 7½-hour "typical" day in a family practice setting. Assessment. Outcomes for the FPS were developed through review of previous literature, standards of practice guidelines, and educational outcomes documents. Simulations were developed, including pharmacist-patient interviews, pharmacist-physician interactions, and pharmacist-nurse interactions. Results. Post-workshop evaluations (n=8) demonstrated the value of the FPS in rapidly orienting and training pharmacists moving into primary care practice and assisting them in developing new collaborative, interprofessional teamwork skills. Conclusions. While clinical simulation has traditionally been focused on patient-practitioner interactions only, the value of simulating a practice style, location (eg, a family practice setting), and multiple types of tasks are beneficial in training pharmacists for more effective, collaborative work with physicians.

Human Simulators and Standardized Patients to Teach Difficult Conversations to Interprofessional Health Care Teams

“…The drawbacks to this project were similar to those described in papers about other simulation projects in health care education. 4,7,10,12 The first was the major time commitment required to design the program. Some of the project team had significant experience in using simulators for training within their own profession, but none in using simulators in an interprofessional environment.…”

“…Simulation has been incorporated in professional practice laboratories and pharmacotherapy classes, 6,7 and has been used to develop communication skills, physical assessment skills, and primary care skills; as an assessment at the end of an APPE; and to model interprofessional teams. [8][9][10][11] Generally speaking, students like this form of education and describe improved knowledge and confidence in the area taught using simulation.…”

“…Simulation has been incorporated in professional practice laboratories and pharmacotherapy classes, 6,7 and has been used to develop communication skills, physical assessment skills, and primary care skills; as an assessment at the end of an APPE; and to model interprofessional teams. [8][9][10][11] Generally speaking, students like this form of education and describe improved knowledge and confidence in the area taught using simulation.Fernandez used high fidelity simulators to teach hypertensive emergency care to teams of pharmacy students.12 Ninety percent of students stated that when compared to lectures, they learned clinical patient care better and 98% also found the course useful for their practice.Westberg et al teamed pharmacy, medical, and nursing students to assess a standardized patient.4 Pre-and post-experience surveys found that students gained an appreciation for the others professions' patient care responsibilities and they also developed high-quality care plans.Changes in pharmacy practice and health care as a whole, as outlined in the 2007-2008 Argus Commission Report and the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners 2015 Vision Statement, will result in deployment of pharmacists in even more direct patient care roles at a more personal level, increasing the need for pharmacists to conduct ''difficult conversations'' with patients. 13,14 Even though simulation is discussed as an effective method for students to practice communication skills during difficult situations, there is little literature actually describing this process.…”

Learning and Networking: Utilization of a Primary Care Listserv by Pharmacists

“…[14][15][16][17][18] Multiple challenges to team integration have also been identified in the literature. 3 However, few studies have examined the experiences or learning needs of pharmacists who are actively attempting to evolve their primary care practices in the real world.…”

Characteristics of Pharmacists Who Enrolled in the Pilot ADAPT Education Program: Implications for Practice Change

“…ADAPT is based on research describing the knowledge, skills and attitudes pharmacists require to optimize medication outcomes and collaborate with other health providers. [13][14][15] ADAPT incorporates best practices in online and hands-on training, enabling pharmacists to integrate new skills into practice. 13,[16][17][18] The program consists of 7 web-based modules (addressing skills such as patient interviewing, collaboration, documentation and decision-making) moderated by experienced pharmacists and uses teaching modalities such as lectures, videos, practice-based activities, patient cases and self/peer assessments.…”