High-Fidelity Simulation Training in Advanced Resuscitation for Pharmacy Residents

Objective. To assess the impact of high-fidelity patient simulation on pharmacy resident knowledge, confidence, and competency with advanced resuscitation algorithms and interventions.Design. An overview of the institutional cardiopulmonary arrest algorithm and a review of pertinent medications and calculations were presented to postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residents, followed by participation in 3 simulated clinical scenarios using a high-fidelity mannequin.Assessment. An improvement of pharmacy resident knowledge, confidence, and competency with advanced resuscitation skills was observed. In addition, pharmacy residents demonstrated high performance levels with skills requiring advanced competency and proactive interactions with the cardiac arrest team.Conclusion. Incorporating high-fidelity patient simulation into an advanced resuscitation training program can help pharmacy residents achieve competency through the active learning of practical skills.     

Online Virtual-Patient Cases Versus Traditional Problem-Based Learning in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of faculty-led problem-based learning (PBL) vs online simulated-patient case in fourth-year (P4) pharmacy students.Design. Fourth-year pharmacy students were randomly assigned to participate in either online branched-case learning using a virtual simulation platform or a small-group discussion. Preexperience and postexperience student assessments and a survey instrument were completed.Evaluation. While there were no significant differences in the preexperience test scores between the groups, there was a significant increase in scores in both the virtual-patient group and the PBL group between the preexperience and postexperience tests. The PBL group had higher postexperience test scores (74.8±11.7) than did the virtual-patient group (66.5±13.6) (p=0.001).Conclusion. The PBL method demonstrated significantly greater improvement in postexperience test scores than did the virtual-patient method. Both were successful learning methods, suggesting that a diverse approach to simulated patient cases may reach more student learning styles.     

Pharmacy Students' Learning and Satisfaction With High-Fidelity Simulation to Teach Drug-Induced Dyspepsia

Objective. To assess second-year pharmacy students’ acquisition of pharmacotherapy knowledge and clinical competence from participation in a high-fidelity simulation, and to determine the impact on the simulation experience of implementing feedback from previous students.Design. A high-fidelity simulation was used to present a patient case scenario of drug-induced dyspepsia with gastrointestinal bleeding. The simulation was revised based on feedback from a previous class of students to include a smaller group size, provision of session material to students in advance, and an improved learning environment.Assessment. Student performance on pre- and post-simulation knowledge and clinical competence tests documented significant improvements in students'' knowledge of dyspepsia and associated symptoms, with the greatest improvement on questions relating to the hemodynamic effects of gastrointestinal bleeding. Students were more satisfied with the simulation experience compared to students in the earlier study.Conclusion. Participation in a high-fidelity simulation allowed pharmacy students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. Improved student satisfaction with the simulation suggests that implementing feedback obtained through student course evaluations can be an effective means of improving the curriculum.     

Interprofessional Education Among Student Health Professionals Using Human Patient Simulation

Objective. To describe the planning, implementation, and outcomes of an interprofessional education clinical laboratory facilitated through human patient simulation.Design. An interprofessional education clinical laboratory was developed with a patient-care scenario of acute exacerbation of heart failure that incorporated the use of a high-fidelity patient simulator. Pharmacy and nursing students assumed clinical roles in this realistic scenario and collaborated to diagnose and treat the patient.Assessment. Student attitudes toward and readiness to participate in interprofessional education improved following participation in the laboratory. Students reported that the greatest benefit of the experience was in their communication skills.Conclusion. Students’ ability to participate in interprofessional education experiences and their attitudes toward them improved following participation in this curricular initiative. Further evaluation of the impact of interprofessional education on student learning outcomes and changes in practice is warranted.     

基于问题导向教学法在医院药房实习教学中的实践

目的:探讨在校药学系学生在医院药房实习的教学方法。方法:采用国外医学院校流行的基于问题导向教学法,结合我国的实际情况进行探讨及示例。结果与结论:基于问题导向教学法切实可行,可用于社会培养合格的药学人才。     

Effectiveness of E-learning in Pharmacy Education

Over the past 2 decades, e-learning has evolved as a new pedagogy within pharmacy education. As learners and teachers increasingly seek e-learning opportunities for an array of educational and individual benefits, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs. This systematic review of the literature examines the quality of e-learning effectiveness studies in pharmacy, describes effectiveness measures, and synthesizes the evidence for each measure. E-learning in pharmacy education effectively increases knowledge and is a highly acceptable instructional format for pharmacists and pharmacy students. However, there is limited evidence that e-learning effectively improves skills or professional practice. There is also no evidence that e-learning is effective at increasing knowledge long term; thus, long-term follow-up studies are required. Translational research is also needed to evaluate the benefits of e-learning at patient and organizational levels.     

Communication Capacity Building through Pharmacy Practice Simulation

Objective. To examine the effectiveness of simulated learning modules (SLMs) encompassing EXcellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership (EXCELL) core competencies in enhancing pharmacy students’ professional communication skills.Methods. Students completed three hours of preparatory lectures and eight hours of workshops comprising six SLMs themed around pharmacy practice and pharmacy placements. Each SLM comprised role-plays with actors, facilitation using EXCELL Social Interaction Maps (SIMs), and debriefing. Evaluations of SLMs included quantitative and qualitative survey responses collected before, during and after workshops, and after placements. Facilitators reflected on SLMs as a pedagogic modality.Results. Student feedback was positive about SLMs as an effective learning tool. The majority indicated areas of new learning and found SLMs enhanced their professional skills and confidence. Facilitator feedback was positive, and suggested SLM optimization strategies.Conclusion. Student and teaching team recommendations will inform future curriculum development including the optimization of SLMs in pharmacy education.     

Team-Based Learning in US Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy

Objective. To characterize the use of team-based learning (TBL) in US colleges and schools of pharmacy, including factors that may affect implementation and perceptions of faculty members regarding the impact of TBL on educational outcomes.Methods. Respondents identified factors that inhibit or enable TBL use and its impact on student learning. Results were stratified by type of institution (public/private), class size, and TBL experience.Results. Sixty-nine of 100 faculty members (69%) representing 43 (86%) institutions responded. Major factors considered to enable TBL implementation included a single campus and student and administration buy-in. Inhibiting factors included distant campuses, faculty resistance, and lack of training. Compared with traditional lectures, TBL is perceived to enhance student engagement, improve students’ preparation for class, and promote achievement of course outcomes. In addition, TBL is perceived to be more effective than lectures at fostering learning in all 6 domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy.Conclusions. Despite potential implementation challenges, faculty members perceive that TBL improves student engagement and learning.     

A Virtual Patient Software Program to Improve Pharmacy Student Learning in a Comprehensive Disease Management Course

Objective. To implement and assess the impact of a virtual patient pilot program on pharmacy students’ clinical competence skills.Design. Pharmacy students completed interactive software-based patient case scenarios embedded with drug-therapy problems as part of a course requirement at the end of their third year.Assessment. Assessments included drug-therapy problem competency achievement, performance on a pretest and posttest, and pilot evaluation survey instrument. Significant improvements in students’ posttest scores demonstrated advancement of clinical skills involving drug-therapy problem solving. Students agreed that completing the pilot program improved their chronic disease management skills and the program summarized the course series well.Conclusion. Using virtual patient technology allowed for assessment of student competencies and improved learning outcomes.     

Active-Learning Processes Used in US Pharmacy Education

Objective

To document the type and extent of active-learning techniques used in US colleges and schools of pharmacy as well as factors associated with use of these techniques.

Methods

A survey instrument was developed to assess whether and to what extent active learning was used by faculty members of US colleges and schools of pharmacy. This survey instrument was distributed via the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) mailing list.

Results

Ninety-five percent (114) of all US colleges and schools of pharmacy were represented with at least 1 survey among the 1179 responses received. Eighty-seven percent of respondents used active-learning techniques in their classroom activities. The heavier the teaching workload the more active-learning strategies were used. Other factors correlated with higher use of active-learning strategies included younger faculty member age (inverse relationship), lower faculty member rank (inverse relationship), and departments that focused on practice, clinical and social, behavioral, and/or administrative sciences.

Conclusions

Active learning has been embraced by pharmacy educators and is used to some extent by the majority of US colleges and schools of pharmacy. Future research should focus on how active-learning methods can be used most effectively within pharmacy education, how it can gain even broader acceptance throughout the academy, and how the effect of active learning on programmatic outcomes can be better documented.     

Active-Learning Diabetes Simulation in an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience to Develop Patient Empathy

Objective. To develop and integrate an active-learning diabetes simulation into an advanced pharmacy practice experience to improve pharmacy students’ empathy toward patients with diabetes mellitus.Design. Students simulated the experience of having diabetes mellitus by conducting activities commonly prescribed to those with this disease state for 7 days, after which they submitted a standardized diabetes log and narrative reflection. Interpretive phenomenology design with thematic analysis was used to determine the impact of this experience on the students.Assessment. As shown in student reflections, 95% developed empathy, 97% found the experience beneficial, and 67% improved their ability to relate to and counsel patients. Most (95%) found difficulty adhering to the regimen. On average, students consumed 179 grams of carbohydrates per day and exercised 5 days or 215 minutes per week. Additionally, 69% decided to modify their personal habits to become healthier.Conclusions. Inclusion of the 7-day active-learning exercise greatly impacted student pharmacists’ self-reported empathy toward and ability to relate to patients with diabetes mellitus. Completion of this experience may result in long-lasting personal behavior modifications.     

Integrating Internships with Professional Study in Pharmacy Education in Finland

Pharmacy internships are an important part of undergraduate pharmacy education worldwide. Internships in Finland are integrated into professional study during the second and third year, which has several pedagogic advantages, such as better understanding of the association between academic studies and pharmaceutical work-life during the studies, and enhanced self-reflection through the feedback from preceptors and peers during the internships. The objective of this paper is to describe the Finnish integrated internship using the pharmacy curriculum at the University of Helsinki as an example.     

Communications Training in Pharmacy Education, 1995-2010

The role of the pharmacist as a “communicator” of information and advice between patients, other healthcare practitioners, and the community is recognized as a vital component of the responsibilities of a practicing pharmacist. Pharmacy education is changing to reflect this, although the difficulty is in designing a curriculum that is capable of equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills, using activities that are effective in promoting communication competency. The objective of this review was to identify published, peer-reviewed articles concerning communication training in pharmacy education programs, and describe which communication skills the structured learning activities aimed to improve and how these learning activities were assessed. A systematic literature search was conducted and the articles found were analyzed and divided into categories based on specific communication skills taught and type of learning activity used. Oral interpersonal communication skills targeted at patients were the most common skill-type described, followed by clinical writing skills. Common teaching methods included simulated and standardized patient interactions and pharmacy practice experience courses. Most educational interventions were assessed by subjective measures. Many interventions were described as fragments, in isolation of other learning activities that took place in a course, which impedes complete analysis of study results. To succeed in communication training, integration between different learning activities and progression within pharmacy educations are important.     

An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience in Inpatient Medication Education

Objective

To describe a unique advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) in which pharmacy students provided medication education to hospitalized patients.

Design

Students were trained to independently assess patients'' needs for education and identify drug-related problems. Students then provided medication education and performed medication therapy management under the supervision of clinical staff pharmacists. To assess the impact of the APPE, the number of hospitalized patients assessed and educated during the 3-month time period prior to student involvement was compared to the first 3 months of the APPE.

Assessment

Student participation increased the number of patients receiving medication education and medication therapy management from the hospital pharmacy. At the end of the APPE, students reported that the experience positively affected their ability to impact patients'' care and to critique their own learning and skills.

Conclusion

The inpatient medication education APPE provided students the opportunity to be responsible and accountable for the provision of direct patient care. In addition, the APPE benefitted the hospital, the school of pharmacy, and, most importantly, the patients.     

The Challenges of Pharmacy Education in Yemen

Pharmacy education in Yemen has faced many challenges since its introduction in the 1980s. Most Yemeni pharmacy schools, especially private ones, are experiencing difficulties in providing the right quality and quantity of clinical educational experiences. Most of these challenges are imbedded in a teaching style and curricula that have failed to respond to the needs of the community and country. The slow shift from traditional drug-dispensing to a patient-centered or focused approach in pharmacy practice requires a fundamental change in the roles and responsibilities of both policymakers and educators. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to discuss the challenges facing the pharmacy education in Yemen; (2) to provided recommendations to overcome challenges.     

中国药学教育的现状和展望

本文对我国药学教育的专业分类、毕业后就业情况及药学教育的组织管理体制进行了分析，并提出２１世纪药学教育应打破条块分割，专业不宜分割过细和强化药学专业的思想。     

The Sustainability of Improvements from Continuing Professional Development in Pharmacy Practice and Learning Behaviors

Objective. To assess the long-term sustainability of continuing professional development (CPD) training in pharmacy practice and learning behaviors.Methods. This was a 3-year posttrial survey of pharmacists who had participated in an unblinded randomized controlled trial of CPD. The online survey assessed participants’ perceptions of pharmacy practice, learning behaviors, and sustainability of CPD. Differences between groups on the posttrial survey responses and changes from the trial’s follow-up survey to the posttrial survey responses within the intervention group were compared.Results. Of the 91 pharmacists who completed the original trial, 72 (79%) participated in the sustainability survey. Compared to control participants, a higher percentage of intervention participants reported in the sustainability survey that they had utilized the CPD concept (45.7% vs 8.1%) and identified personal learning objectives (68.6% vs 43.2%) during the previous year. Compared to their follow-up survey responses, lower percentages of intervention participants reported identifying personal learning objectives (94.3% vs 68.6%), documenting their learning plan (82.9% vs 22.9%) and participating in learning by doing (42.9% vs 14.3%) in the sustainability survey. In the intervention group, many of the improvements to pharmacy practice items were sustained over the 3-year period but were not significantly different from the control group.Conclusion. Sustainability of a CPD intervention over a 3-year varied. While CPD-trained pharmacists reported utilizing CPD concepts at a higher rate than control pharmacists, their CPD learning behaviors diminished over time.     

Effectiveness of Educational Technology to Improve Patient Care in Pharmacy Curricula

A review of the literature on the effectiveness of educational technologies to teach patient care skills to pharmacy students was conducted. Nineteen articles met inclusion criteria for the review. Seven of the articles included computer-aided instruction, 4 utilized human-patient simulation, 1 used both computer-aided instruction and human-patient simulation, and 7 utilized virtual patients. Educational technology was employed with more than 2700 students at 12 colleges and schools of pharmacy in courses including pharmacotherapeutics, skills and patient care laboratories, drug diversion, and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) orientation. Students who learned by means of human-patient simulation and virtual patients reported enjoying the learning activity, whereas the results with computer-aided instruction were mixed. Moreover, the effect on learning was significant in the human-patient simulation and virtual patient studies, while conflicting data emerged on the effectiveness of computer-aided instruction.