I am a fourth-year pharmacy student and I will name my student Jane for confidentiality purposes.  Jane has been my first mentee and when we met, I greeted her warmly and introduced her to the pharmacy.  I gave Jane an induction pack on the activities that are carried out at the pharmacy as well as the arrangement of inventory on the shelves and fire alarm testing, and emergency equipment and showed her the eateries.  It should be noted that the employment of induction and learning packs has been proved to be indispensable when applied effectively for both the mentor and mentee.  Through SOLER’s model of communication skills, Jane and I has a conversation regarding the rules of our interaction, the expectations for each other as well as the learning environment.  SOLER denotes a model of non-verbal communication methods which plays a significant role in demonstrating active listening explaining the rationale behind choosing the model (Stickley, 2011). It entails positioning and body language and has it that someone should lean forward, however, I never did that since I believe that Jane could find that threatening.

We discussed community pharmacy consultation skills as the current exercise.  I needed to teach her the skills at the waiting bay which is the quietest and most spacious area where no colleague could disturb us as it was time when we were not expecting clients. We discussed the significance of developing proper consultation skills and as a reflective learner, I felt the urge to explain to her how proper consultation skills could help in clerking patients in her career as a pharmacist. We commenced the exercise by myself playing the role of a patient and her pharmacist. We then confirmed if she had nailed it by checking the class noted on patient-pharmacist consultation.

We spent a significant amount of time going through the continuous assessment of the practice document as well as the competency framework to appreciate the learning outcomes which Jane needed to meet and the academic level she should be working towards. Since Jane was a second-year student, the learning outcomes were strongly linked to applying theory to practice meaning that I needed to develop teaching sessions dedicated to the same. Through the use of GROW coaching model, I wanted to know her goal and how she could feel if she achieves it (Anthony et al., 2018).  We held a discussion on her current state on the option we have of helping her improve.  She informed me of the various step that she believes can help her become a better pharmacist in future and she has been demonstrating a strong commitment to bettering herself. Jane and I reached an agreement on the time she could spend with me and the lecturers she needs to consult to broaden the learning opportunities for her placement.

I showed Jane bad examples of poor patient-pharmacists communication to test her ability to identify mistakes.  It should be noted that best practices are good but someone learns more from the bad examples. For example, we discussed the implication of irrational prescribing on the patient and that way she understood the role of the pharmacists in pharmacovigilance. We always discussed the progress we were making and I created a questionnaire for her to fill out to let me know how effective were my coaching skills. The same played a significant on reflecting on my coaching behaviour and any areas that needed improvement. I continued to provide learning opportunities for myself by always going back to Jane to track her development.

Gopee (2011) has it that the assessment of a coachee entails collecting information on the student’s ability to carry out particular skills or competencies. Performance should be gauged against set standards set by the authorities. After the assessment, I provided Jane with feedback on her performance. I was not as constructive as possible and sometimes got frustrated by the mistakes that she kept on repeating such as getting to our meeting late. However, I made sure that I was objective, clear and concise regarding the elements of our assessment.  Jane was nervous about the assessment and next time I will make sure to ask her for a topic in advance so that we get time to settle on the best topic. I will make sure to make follow-ups with Jane to find out how she is growing.

I wanted to know from the student if I had helped her to achieve her objectives. She started that now she is a better communicator and has learnt to be punctual.  Additionally, she stated that my coaching helped her to define realistic career goals for herself.  I assisted her to set the goals and work actively towards achieving them.  Additionally, she stated that with me she found a safer space to again another perspective regarding learning in pharmacy school.  She commented that she is now aware of her strengths and weaknesses, especially her non-verbal communication skills.  Consequently, she now speaks confidently in front of her lecturers and fellow students.