(86) Incorporation of a Virtual Communication Platform for Patient Interview Practice Among Pharmacy Students

Objective : Students practice communication skill development with peers in workshops and are assessed during simulations. Given resources required for additional in-person practice, faculty piloted the use of SimConverse, a screen-based, artificial intelligence driven virtual platform for verbal communication skill practice. The purpose of this study was to describe students’ perceptions of the usability of the virtual communication platform and value as an educational tool.

Methods: During Spring 2023, first year pharmacy students enrolled in a patient care lab course completed a patient interview using the virtual communication platform as a homework assignment. After completing their virtual patient interview, students received feedback about their performance via a rubric within the platform. This assignment was designed to be additional practice as students prepared for a high-stakes standardized patient encounter. Students voluntarily completed two questionnaires; the first questionnaire was administered following the homework and the second followed a high-stakes assessment. Descriptive statistics were utilized for results.

Results: Following the homework, students (n=67; 76% response rate) reported that they strongly agreed or agreed that the exercise was a useful learning tool to practice communication skills (92%), was easy to use (88%), provided a realistic patient encounter (82%), and helped them build confidence in communication (87%). Favorable responses were also obtained after students (n=84; 95% response rate) completed the high-stakes assessment (83%, 80%, and 72% strongly agreed/agreed about usefulness, ease of use, and realism of the platform). Eighty-two percent strongly agreed/agreed that it would have been valuable to incorporate the platform earlier in the curriculum.

Conclusions: Students have favorable views of the usability of a virtual communication platform and its value to learning communication skills.