The use of patients in healthcare education is well established in an acute setting; however, Patients as Teachers (PAT) in a classroom only started in the 1960s [
1,
2]. The level of patient involvement in the classroom has since been increasing and now varies between being used for testimony, all the way to leading sessions where they can tell their story, stimulate reflection, and help students to problem solve [
3]. Pharmacy education has traditionally been science-based, but is now more clinically driven by patient facing roles, as such the inclusion of the real-world context to the curriculum is of increasing importance. Increased classroom involvement of the patient as an “expert by experience” helps to address issues in textbook teaching of chronic illness and discrepancies between theory and real-life [
1,
4]. PAT sessions integrate students’ learning by contextualizing theory with real patients, a requirement for the training of pharmacy students in the United Kingdom [
5]. The benefits of using PAT are well documented and typically show an increase in learner satisfaction, perceived relevance of learning, and communication skills [
6]. PAT sessions also provide a safe environment to practice being a healthcare professional [
7]. Feedback from patients is overwhelmingly positive, feeling that they belong in the students’ education, enjoying giving back to the community, and reporting benefits to their self-esteem and personal health. Patient concerns focus on anxiety about communicating their story, engaging, and educating the students [
7]. These concerns are addressed with adequate patient selection and training; if done well, the patients become “colleagues in teaching” [
4,
6]. PAT sessions are utilized in the training of healthcare professionals and have been extensively reviewed, showing good evidence of short-term benefit to learning and satisfaction and facilitating deeper learning. They allow the application of knowledge by “showing how” and “doing”, rather than by a simple factual recall according to Miller’s pyramid [
4,
7,
8]. However, the literature has focused on the training of physicians and nurses, with the impact of such sessions on pharmacy students less thoroughly explored [
1].
The PAT sessions delivered at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) cover 10 areas: cardiovascular, central nervous system, endocrine, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, hearing, musculoskeletal, respiratory, sight, and skin. During the sessions, students spend time with different patients, practicing their clinical and communication skills, with elements that are teacher-led, patient-led, and jointly led by patients and teachers, and discussions. Similar PAT sessions are utilized at many UK pharmacy schools including the University of Sussex, Medway School of Pharmacy, and University College London.