title: Internationally trained pharmacists' perception of their communication proficiency and their views on the impact on patient safety.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  According to Great Britain (GB)'s pharmacy regulator's standards of conduct, ethics and performance, pharmacists have a responsibility to ensure that they have sufficient linguistic skills to communicate and perform their job safely. Yet, very little is known about internationally trained pharmacists' (ITPs) linguistic proficiency.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate ITPs' perceptions of their communication proficiency and the resultant impact on patient safety.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight focus groups were conducted between May and July 2010, with 31 European Economic Area (EEA) and 11 non-EEA pharmacists who, at the time of the study, practiced in community pharmacy (n = 29) or hospital (n = 13), in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. The framework method was used to analyze qualitative data, and the Model of Communicative Proficiency (MCP) served as a framework to handle and explain the data obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ITPs experienced communication difficulties through new dialects, use of idioms and colloquial language in their workplace. The differences between the "BBC English" they learned formally and the "Street English" used in GB also led to difficulties. Culture was also recognized as an important aspect of communication. ITPs in this study were adamant that communication difficulty did not compromise patient safety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communicative deficiency of ITPs arose primarily from two sources: linguistic competence and socio-cultural competence. These deficiencies could have negative implications for patient safety. The findings of this study should be taken into account when designing adaptation programs for ITPs.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies, The Manchester Pharmacy School, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK. Electronic address: ZainabZiaei@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zainab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ziaei
authors.affiliation: Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies, The Manchester Pharmacy School, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hassell
authors.affiliation: Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies, The Manchester Pharmacy School, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Ellen I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Schafheutle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D003469:Culture; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D005551:Foreign Professional Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D061214:Patient Safety; D010595:Pharmacists; D006113:United Kingdom; D014825:Vocabulary
keywords: English language competency; Internationally trained pharmacist; Migration; Pharmacy