Assessing empathy and self-efficacy levels of pharmacy students in an elective diabetes management course.

Objective: To assess the impact of a 6-week patient/provider interaction simulation on empathy and self-efficacy levels of diabetes management skills in third-year pharmacy students.

Design: Pharmacy students enrolled in a diabetes elective course were paired to act as a patient with diabetes or as a provider assisting in the management of that patient during a 6-week simulation activity. After 3 weeks, students switched roles. The simulation was designed with activities to build empathy.

Assessment: The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and a self-efficacy survey were administered to assess change in empathy and confidence levels from baseline to the end of the activity. Completion of the activity resulted in significant improvement in total JSE scores. Additionally, significant improvements in overall self-efficacy scores regarding diabetes management were noted.

Conclusion: The 6-week patient/provider interaction simulation improved empathy and self-efficacy levels in third-year pharmacy students.