• Lisa M Lundquist, Angela O Shogbon, Kathryn M Momary, and Hannah K Rogers.
• College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Lundquist_LM@mercer.edu
• Am J Pharm Educ. 2013 May 13; 77 (4): 72.

ObjectiveTo compare students' self-assessment of their communication skills with faculty members' formal evaluation of their skills in a therapeutics course.MethodsOver a 3-year period, faculty members evaluated second-year pharmacy students' communication skills as part of a requirement in a therapeutics course. Immediately following an individual oral assessment and again following a group oral assessment, students self-assessed their communication skills using the same rubric the faculty members had used. Students' self-assessments were then compared with faculty members' evaluation of students' communication skills.ResultsFour hundred one (97.3%) students consented to participate in this study. Faculty evaluation scores of students for both the individual and group oral assessments were significantly higher than students' self-assessment scores. Students' self-assessment scores of their communication skills increased from the individual to the group oral assessment.ConclusionStudents' self-assessments of communication skills were consistently lower than faculty members' evaluations. Greater use of oral assessments throughout the pharmacy curriculum may help to improve students' confidence in and self-assessment of their communication skills.

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