How do we manage patient/customer and colleague expectations?
The student can be introduced to patients/customers and colleagues as a pharmacy student on placement. The student will also wear a badge provided by their School of Pharmacy, that identifies them as a pharmacy student. Feedback from previous 2nd year students indicated that students felt they greatly benefited from the opportunity to improve their communication skills with patients in a “real-life” environment. Students are encouraged to interact with patients, and to reflect on these interactions in the context of their own professional development, under the supervision of their pharmacist. Students are also reminded before they go on placement, to be mindful not to treat the patients they meet as “case studies”, but to be respectful, courteous, and empathetic at all times.