My Personal Experience In The Foundations Of Pharmacy Experience

As part of the Foundations of Pharmacy Practice I had the opportunity to experience my first performance based assessment, which consisted on an evaluation of my communication skills by a simulated patient through a simulated pharmacy encounter setting. The assessment consisted of two main parts, the simulation with the patient where I had to obtain a medication history and counsel the patient on an assigned drug, and the second part was based on our ability to interpret a compoundable drug prescription.

Through out the semester in pharmacy practice laboratory, I have been able to practice counseling and completing a medication history using my laboratory partner as the simulated patient. Even though I have had prior exposure in the laboratory setting, experiencing a real patient encounter in the communication assessment has made me self reflect and realize that the most important aspect in encounters is to build rapport with the patient, which is only achieved by listening and paying attention to what the patient is saying, and replying with empathy, to show them you care for them and their well being. This was an aspect that the patient commented back in the feedback, the fact that

By reflecting on this event I know I will be able to demonstrate my improvements in future laboratory practices and will strive to perfection my skills, so in a future, when I am working as a pharmacist I can provide the best care I possibly can to patients. I understand that as a pharmacist having good communication skills is a priority and this can only be perfected through practice, which I will continue to develop throughout my exposure to different practice settings like, rotations, oral presentations, laboratory experiences and other encounters that I might