Building a team to fight diabetes: Pharmacy students’ perceptions about serving as patient navigators

To describe pharmacy students’ changes in self-perceptions during a program that introduces them to working as a “patient navigator” with patients who have diabetes. Pharmacy students were trained during their Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) as part of a continuing study of patients in an urban clinic. The interdisciplinary program combines hands-on experience in primary care with behavioral knowledge including cultural competency. Training by pharmacy and social science faculty included the use of lectures, video, and role-playing. These applied clinical education, motivational interviewing, and a well-tested behavioral model of health beliefs. The students then observed and held direct, supervised interactions with patients. To assess their experience, students completed surveys at the beginning and end of the five-week rotations. This article discusses responses from 34 students (2009–2012) and compares changes in students’ perceptions after the experience. Students’ self-perceptions of their knowledge or abilities in four areas of patient self-management were significantly more positive upon completion: providing diabetes education, setting self-management goals, identifying barriers to treatment, and understanding patients’ health beliefs and attitudes. Students felt that the experience was useful for their professional development and future practice. Exposing students to skills as patient navigators can have a positive effect on their confidence about assisting with diabetes management. Hands-on application of behavioral techniques and cultural competence within a primary care-based APPE can provide a promising learning experience. This is meaningful for today’s pharmacists, who will function in a multicultural environment, in which diabetes has a powerful effect on public health.