Role Play Typology

Implementation of the Role-play Typology to a Role-play Process in Pharmacy Practice Workshop
The role-play process used in patient care workshops for pharmacy students.
• Developing effective communication skills, including active-listening skills, to enable history-taking and to effectively convey recommendations and advice regarding nonprescription medications (Pharmacy Only [S2] products, which do not require the presence of a pharmacist to purchase; and Pharmacist Only [S3] products, which require a pharmacist to advise the customer on use of the medication prior to purchase).
• Accurately gathering patient history using a structured process and correctly assessing the problem.
• Applying knowledge about S2 and S3 medications to make
These skills are then used during semester 2 to make decisions based on knowledge about medical conditions commonly encountered in community pharmacies (eg, respiratory, gastroenterology, analgesics, dermatology, eye and ear infections; complete list available from author upon request). There were 130 students enrolled in the course during semester 1, and 129 students enrolled during semester 2 (1 dropout). In the first semester, learning activities using several short role-plays were undertaken in 8 weekly workshops over 5 weeks (10 cases, 5 broad topics; 16-17 students per workshop in 4-5 groups with 4-5 students per group and 2 instructors per workshop). In semester 2, the activities were undertaken over 8 weeks (6 workshops per week) and included 2 practice sessions (36 cases, 7 broad topics; 20-22 students per workshop in 7 groups with 3-4 students per group and 3 instructors per workshop). All the cases were based on real-life encounters and were developed in collaboration with instructors who also were practicing registered pharmacists familiar with competency standards. At the beginning of every workshop and semester, instructors were briefed on the expectations and grading criteria.
Each of these roles was associated with the development of specific skills embedded in the role-play activities. The form for documentation of information, which was developed specifically for these courses, was an adaptation of that used by the National Prescribing Service (NPS) to conduct pharmacy practice review audits. Prior to the workshops, students received background information about the objectives and expectations related to role-play (ie, roles and responsibilities of each student in the group, learning outcomes, assessment criteria (available from the author upon request), and the need for good communication and professionalism via lectures given in the first semester, course information booklets, a professional portfolio, and the first session of the