New course to improve communication between pharmaceutical expert and patient

As the professional role of pharmacists working close to the customer turns from distributor of drugs to counseling with the patient in focus, the demands on communicative competencies increase. Despite this, teaching in customer dialogue has remained sparse at the Swedish Master and Bachelor of Science Programmes in Pharmacy, but starting in the spring semester 2025, Uppsala University is launching the freestanding course Advanced Medication Communication: Theory and Practice, an initiative greeted with great interest.

“We know that students of pharmacy in all the Nordic countries want more practical communication training, and the response from professional pharmacists we have spoken to is exclusively positive. Many affirm how they after graduation realize the importance of quickly establishing a good dialogue with drug users, and now we have a course that we are convinced will provide valuable knowledge to both students and pharmaceutical experts in the middle of their careers,” says Charlotta Heijkenskjöld, Director of studies at the Department of Pharmacy.

The course is divided into four modules. After two initial days on campus in Uppsala, digital teaching sets focus on the customer's experience of taking a drug. In module 2, the perspective of the professional is at the center with a psychologist helping course participants to understand their own role in a dialogue. The students then turn theory into practice at Practicum – Uppsala University's brand new learning environment for pharmaceutical and medical training – before wrapping up the course with a review of current communication research and its importance in the meeting with the drug user.

“Practicum's reality-based pharmacy and healthcare environments will provide an extremely valuable asset for us. Not least in a course with a focus on communication, where we, with advanced recording technology, can give the participants instant feedback, tools to handle different situations and to - regardless of the customer's behavior - make conscious choices throughout the conversation,” says Karin Svensberg, Senior Lecturer in Social pharmacy.

The decision to conduct a course in communication online is fully in line with the national need of knowledge identified during the preparatory work for the course. The target group includes students at Uppsala University's Master and Bachelor of Science Programmes in Pharmacy and Master's Programme in Drug Management, but also professional health care personnel throughout Sweden. The hope is to create a group that from the start will unite the pharmaceutical experts of the future with those who already have professional experience.

“I work a few days per month at a pharmacy and know that our expertise will never be complete. But with this course we will provide important knowledge on how pharmacists can provide counseling based on the patient rather than the drug. Thus, adding a valuable piece of the puzzle in the work to contribute to better drug use and to make our working days even more meaningful,” says Karin Svensberg.

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Magnus Alsne, Mikael Wallerstedt