Megan Toner is a first-year PharmD candidate at the MCPHS School of Pharmacy Boston, and Loriel J. Solodokin, PharmD, BCOP, is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the MCPHS School of Pharmacy Boston.
It is hard to imagine medicine and comedy in the same sentence without envisioning some form of entertainment, but the two concepts converge in real-life patient care, too. Medical improv (MI) is the blended practice of improvisational theater principles and clinical skill sets that are used to improve communication and empathic care.1,2 MI promotes quick thinking and effective communication techniques between student providers and their patients, and it leads to improved performance in standardized patient exams, confidence in patient interactions, and overall well-being.3,4
Given MI’s spontaneity, need for adaptability, and entertaining undertones—coupled with its impressive patient care outcomes—I (Dr. Solodokin) endeavored to introduce it as a way to cultivate and strengthen student pharmacists’ soft skills, patient education techniques, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Since 2019, we have organized three MI-focused events at the MCPHS School of Pharmacy Boston and incorporated the practice as an interactive activity within didactic lectures.
Teaching the tenets of improv
To assist in the delivery of MI training, we enlisted the assistance of Cory Jenks, PharmD, an ambulatory care pharmacist, author, and improv comedian who is the founder of ImprovRx and has led MI seminars and workshops throughout the country. During our virtual MI sessions, he taught improvisation tenets such as “Yes and” (the pillar of improvisation theater) and flexibility as well as exercises like the “One Word Story”—participants telling a story, responsively, one word at a time.
This year, a social determinants of health case was incorporated into the session so that students could apply their newly garnered skills via a simulated patient interaction. By the end of each session, students indicated that they appreciated the importance of being present in the moment, listening, building upon (i.e., not negating) others’ viewpoints, communication, and empathy. They also realized that “mistakes” are not bad; rather, they create an opportunity to respond, grow, and learn.
A hit with students
Student feedback from these events was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, 70% rated their likelihood to seek out additional improv experiences as “very likely”; more than 65% rated the likelihood of improvisation techniques affecting their communication skills, patient interactions, and interdisciplinary interactions as “very likely”; and 100% agreed MI skill building is needed within the MCPHS pharmacy professional curriculum. The students noted that some challenges they experienced during these sessions included the difficulty of on-the-spot thinking, getting used to the exercises, and the virtual aspect of their experience. These results were encouragingly echoed by other universities with more formalized incorporation of MI experiences within their curricula.5
Due to the success of our MCPHS sessions, we encourage other colleges of pharmacy to consider integrating MI skill development sessions into their curricular and/or their co- and extracurricular offerings. We are excited to continue exploring the boundaries of MI as a fun way to engage students, challenge them to step outside of their comfort zones, and prepare them to be effective pharmacists and well-rounded individuals.
References
- Cai F, Ruhotina M, Bowler M, et al. Can I get a suggestion? Medical improv as a tool for empathy training in obstetrics and gynecology residents. J Grad Med Educ11(5):597–600.
- Grossman CE, Lemay M, Kang L, et al. Improv to improve medical student communication. Clin Teach. 2021;(3):301–6.
- Watson K, Fu B. Medical improv: A novel approach to teaching communication and professionalism skills. Ann Intern Med.2016;165(8), 591–2.
- Neel N, Maury J-M, Heskett KM, et al. The impact of a medical improv curriculum on wellbeing and professional development among pre-clinical medical students. Med Educ Online. 2021;26(1):1961565.
- Boesen KP, Herrier RN, Apgar DA, et al. Improvisational exercises to improve pharmacy students’ professional communication skills. Am J Pharm Educ. 2009;73(2):35.