The effect of an elective psychiatry course on pharmacy student empathy

Abstract Introduction While a number of published studies have evaluated the impact of pedagogical methods on pharmacy student stigma and attitudes toward patients with mental illness, the current study is the first to compare a psychiatry elective course to traditional lecture on pharmacy student empathy toward patients with mental illness. Materials and methods All third-year pharmacy students at one pharmacy school enrolled in the Pathophysiology/Therapeutics III course and prior to enrollment in an Advanced Psychiatry elective course, were invited to complete a survey containing the Jefferson Scale of Empathy Health Professions Student Version (JSE-HPS). Demographic variables including age, gender, family history of mental illness, and previous experience in mental health hospitals were also collected. The same survey instrument (JSE-HPS with demography) was administered after traditional lecture/prior to psychiatry elective and at the conclusion of the Advanced Psychiatry elective. Results The survey was completed by 60% ( N = 41) of students prior to traditional lecture, 45% ( N = 31) after traditional lecture and 88% ( N = 14) after the psychiatry elective. Mean empathy scores increased from 109.32 pre-lecture to 112.86 post-lecture ( p = 0.162 vs. pre-lecture) and 120.00 post-elective ( p = 0.001 vs. pre-lecture). Conclusion The teaching methods employed in the psychiatry elective course, including media, contact-based education and an auditory hallucination simulator, lead to an increase in pharmacy student empathy toward patients with mental illness. Pharmacy educators should continue to explore novel ways to increase pharmacy student empathy toward patients with mental illness.