Evaluation of a presentation skills course for pharmacists

As the role of the pharmacist develops, expands and changes, it is crucial that those involved in the provision of education and training programmes address areas of current need. One such area is that of delivering presentations to groups, since this is a task which pharmacists are increasingly expected to perform. This paper describes a communication skills training (CST) course for pharmacists, targeting on the area of presentation skills. Starting with a brief overview of the content of the course, where five specific presentation strategies are elaborated, the article goes on to describe the key instructional techniques used. Programme evaluation was through analysis of a post-course questionnaire designed to assess the perceived effects of the training on participants. Against the stated criteria the course achieved an overall 85 per cent score. Strategies for introducing, structuring and concluding a presentation, and for defining new terms scored highest in terms of skill use outcome whereas techniques for engaging audience participation obtained the lowest scores. The implications of these results are discussed, together with recommendations as to how this type of training can be optimised.