Evaluating communication skills after long-term practical training among Japanese pharmacy students.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to assess pharmacy students' satisfaction with long-term practical training programs at hospital and community pharmacies and how these programs benefitted communication skills. METHODS: We asked 83 fifth-year pharmacy students to answer anonymous questionnaires assessing their satisfaction and perceived benefits of practical training and to complete Teramachi's Pharmacist Communication Skill Scale (TePSS-31), a measure of pharmacists' communication skills, after undergoing their practical training periods at hospital and community pharmacies in 2014. RESULTS: Over 90% of students who underwent the practical training were satisfied with their experiences. Furthermore, they reported that practical training institution was helpful for improving their communication skills and gave them sufficient opportunity to interact with consulting patients, engage in role play with pharmacists or peers, and observe interactions between pharmacists and patients. Overall, over 80% of students felt that they had shown improvement in communication skills, indicating that the training was effective. We further reconfirmed that the TePSS-31 has good internal consistency. The total scores on the TePSS-31 after the hospital and community pharmacy training programs did not significantly differ, indicating that the place where the training was received did not influence students' acquisition of communication skills. CONCLUSIONS: Most students were satisfied with the long-term practical training at hospital and community pharmacies, and the training helped improve their communication skills for dealing with patients and coworkers.

Living with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification 3: a qualitative study describing the lives and illness of people diagnosed with a rare neurological disease.

PURPOSE: Idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC) is a rare, intractable disease with unknown etiology. IBGC3 is a familial genetic disease defined by genetic mutations in the major causative gene (SLC20A2). People with IBGC3 experience distress from the uncommon nature of their illness and uncertainty about treatment and prognoses. The present study aimed to describe the lives and illness of people with IBGC3. METHODS: Participants were recruited from patients aged 20 years or older enrolled in a genetic study, who were diagnosed with IBGC3 and wanted to share their experiences. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants. Interviews were conducted between December 2012 and February 2014, and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data analysis was performed to identify categories and subcategories. Efforts were made to ensure the credibility, transferability, dependability, conformability, and validity of the data. RESULTS: Six thematic categories, 17 subcategories, and 143 codes emerged. The six categories were: (1) Frustration and anxiety with progression of symptoms without a diagnosis; (2) Confusion about diagnosis with an unfamiliar disease; (3) Emotional distress caused by a genetic disease; (4) Passive attitude toward life, being extra careful; (5) Taking charge of life, becoming active and engaged; and (6) Requests for healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: The qualitative data analysis indicated a need for genetic counseling, access to disease information, establishment of peer and family support systems, mental health services, and improvement in early intervention and treatment for the disease.