The Right Dose of Confidence: Improving and Evaluating Communication Skills in Self-Care

Hosted by the Self-Care Therapeutics/Nonprescription Medicine SIG

Soft skill development—such as communication, empathy, and professionalism—is essential in pharmacy education to ensure students are prepared for practice and patient-centered care. The ACPE Standards 2025 continue to emphasize the importance of personal and professional growth, integrating these competencies throughout the curriculum to support the development of well-rounded, practice-ready pharmacists. This session will discuss activities developed at two schools of pharmacy to develop communication skills and build student confidence with self-care patient consultations.

Objectives:

• Explore innovative methods for enhancing student confidence within didactic self-care education.
• Examine effective techniques for developing communication abilities during self-care patient interactions
•  Identify and evaluate strategies for implementing summative assessments in self-care didactic courses.

Moderator:

Kendall Guthrie, PharmD, BCACP
Director of Co-Curriculum/Clinical Associate Professor
University of Missouri-Kansas City

Speakers:

Lisa Kipper, PharmD
Director of Experiential Education/Assistant Professor
Marshall B. Ketchum University

Ellen Jones, PharmD, BCACP
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Harding University