Active-Learning Instruction on Emergency Contraception Counseling

Objective. To increase pharmacy students’ knowledge of and confidence in counseling patients regarding emergency contraception and to identify any barriers to counseling patients about emergency contraception.Design. Approximately 200 third-year pharmacy students participated in the Women’s Health Therapeutics workshop at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy. Students observed a 5-minute skit of a counseling session on emergency contraception and then were asked to pair up with a classmate and practice counseling each other regarding the use of emergency contraception following a checklist of key points.Assessment. One hundred eighty-nine students completed pre- and post-workshop survey instruments. Students’ knowledge scores increased from 86% to 93% (p<0.001). Approximately 25% of the students stated they were confident in counseling patients on emergency contraception before completing the active-learning exercise compared to 58.5% after (p<0.001). The most common barrier to counseling that students identified on the pre- and post-workshop survey was lack of knowledge.Conclusion. Participation in an active-learning exercise significantly increased pharmacy students’ knowledge of and confidence in counseling patients regarding emergency contraception and significantly reduced several barriers to counseling identified prior to participation.     

Teaching and Learning Health Literacy in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Objective. To evaluate the impact of health literacy (HL) activities incorporated into a required, first professional year (P1), patient-centered communication course on pharmacy students’ knowledge, abilities, confidence, and attitudes related to HL.Design. Integrated, active-learning HL activities were incorporated into the course. Students’ knowledge and abilities were assessed with course evaluations. Students’ knowledge, confidence levels, and attitudes were evaluated by a precourse and postcourse survey. Third professional year (P3) students who did not complete HL activities were also surveyed.Assessment. Almost all students “met” or “exceeded” expectations (the top 2 levels of achievement on the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) grading rubrics) on HL course evaluations. Survey results showed significant improvement in P1 students’ knowledge, confidence, and attitudes related to HL after completing the course. First year students (postcourse) rated their confidence levels and attitudes higher than P3 students.Conclusion. The use of integrated, active-learning activities is effective at improving P1 pharmacy students’ knowledge, abilities, confidence levels, and attitudes related to HL.     

Implementation of an Accelerated Physical Examination Course in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Objective. To describe the implementation of a 1-day accelerated physical examination course for a doctor of pharmacy program and to evaluate pharmacy students’ knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in performing physical examination.Design. Using a flipped teaching approach, course coordinators collaborated with a physician faculty member to design and develop the objectives of the course. Knowledge, attitude, and confidence survey questions were administered before and after the practical laboratory.Assessment. Following the practical laboratory, knowledge improved by 8.3% (p<0.0001). Students’ perceived ability and confidence to perform a physical examination significantly improved (p<0.0001). A majority of students responded that reviewing the training video (81.3%) and reading material (67.4%) prior to the practical laboratory was helpful in learning the physical examination.Conclusion. An accelerated physical examination course using a flipped teaching approach was successful in improving students’ knowledge of, attitudes about, and confidence in using physical examination skills in pharmacy practice.     

An Elective Course on Application of Clinical Pharmacy Principles

Objective. To design and implement an elective therapeutics course and to assess its impact on students’ attainment of course outcomes and level of confidence in applying clinical pharmacy principles and pharmacotherapy knowledge.Design. A 3-credit hour elective for third-year pharmacy students was structured to include problem-based learning (PBL), journal club and case presentations, and drug information activities.Assessment. Student achievement of curricular outcomes was measured using performance on SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) notes, case and journal club presentations, drug information activities, and peer evaluations. Results from a pre- and post-course survey instrument demonstrated significant improvement in students’ confidence in applying clinical pharmacy principles.Conclusion. Students completing the course demonstrated increased attainment of course outcomes and confidence in their abilities to evaluate a patient case and make pharmacotherapeutic recommendations.     

A Quantitative Professionalism Policy in a Community Pharmacy Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

Objective. To determine whether implementing a quantitative professionalism policy would lead to improved behaviors in an introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) and to evaluate students’ attitudes about professionalism expectations in the IPPE.Design. A policy using quantitative parameters for assessing unprofessional behaviors was developed and implemented in the community pharmacy IPPE after discrepancies were identified in the way professional expectations were assessed.Assessment. The quantitative professionalism policy reduced the number of assignments submitted post deadline (p<0.05). There was no change in students’ attitudes towards professional behaviors after the implementation of the policy.Conclusion. The quantitative professionalism policy was effective in changing some of the students’ professional behaviors in an IPPE.     

Physical assessment experience in a problem-based learning course

Objective. To evaluate the impact of a physical-assessment learning experience implemented in the problem-based learning (PBL) format of the third year of a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program.Design. Students enrolled in a PBL course completed survey instruments to measure knowledge and confidence before and after participating in the learning experience. A simulation stethoscope was used to teach students abnormal pulmonary and cardiovascular sounds in 1-hour sessions for each of 12 PBL groups.Assessment. The 92 students enrolled in the PBL course completed pre- and post-experience survey instruments. Students’ scores on knowledge questions increased significantly (p < 0.0001) from 40.4% ± 11.4% at baseline to 62.5% ± 13.7% and 63.1 ± 11.6%, respectively, on the 2 sets of post-experience questions. Students scored a median of 3 or 4 on a 5-point Likert scale after a learning experience on questions measuring confidence.Conclusion. Use of a simulation stethoscope in a physical-assessment learning experience increased pharmacy students’ knowledge in performing pulmonary and cardiovascular assessment techniques.     

Saudi school students’ knowledge,attitude and practice toward medicines

The current study was aimed to assess Saudi school students’ knowledge, attitude and practice about medicines. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used anonymously among 15–20 year-old adolescents attending tertiary schools in Taif City, KSA. A total of 1022 students completed the questionnaires. Only 15.4% of the respondents knew the medicines’ uses. Most of the students 79.6% affirmed that they used to take medicines after consulting physicians, and 45.1% of the students thought that tablet size affects the medicine’s efficacy. More than half of the students knew that high temperatures affect the efficacy of medicines, there was a significant difference between rural and urban areas (P = 0.005). Physicians (50.6%) and community pharmacists (15.7%), were the main students’ reliable sources of information about medicines. The majority of the students 70.5% were interested in learning more about medicines. The younger students ⩽18 years wish to learn more than the older ones (P < 0.014). The study showed that Saudi school students aged 15–20 years old have poor knowledge, misconception and negative attitudes about medicines. Low level of knowledge may expose adolescents to health-related problems. Educational efforts are important to improve students’ practice toward medicines.     

Implementation of the WHO-6-step method in the medical curriculum to improve pharmacology knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills

Aim

The only validated tool for pharmacotherapy education for medical students is the 6-step method of the World Health Organization. It has proven effective in experimental studies with short term interventions. The generalizability of this effect after implementation in a contextual-rich medical curriculum was investigated.

Methods

The pharmacology knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills of cohorts of students, from years before, during and after implementation of a WHO-6-step-based integrated learning programme were tested using a standardized assessment containing 50 items covering knowledge of basic (n = 25) and clinical (n = 24) pharmacology, and pharmacotherapy skills (n = 1 open question). All scores are expressed as a percentage of the maximum score possible per (sub)domain.

Results

In total, 1652 students were included between September 2010 and July 2014 (participation rate 89%). The WHO-6-step-based learning programme improved students’ knowledge of basic pharmacology (mean score ± SD, 60.6 ± 10.5% vs. 63.4 ± 10.9%, P < 0.01) and clinical or applied pharmacology (63.7 ± 10.4% vs. 67.4 ± 10.3%, P < 0.01), and improved their pharmacotherapy skills (68.8 ± 26.1% vs. 74.6% ± 22.9%, P 0.02). Moreover, satisfaction with education increased (5.7 ± 1.3 vs. 6.3 ± 1.0 on a 10-point scale, P < 0.01) and as did students’ confidence in daily practice (from −0.81 ± 0.72 to −0.50 ± 0.79 on a −2 to +2 scale, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

The WHO-6-step method was successfully implemented in a medical curriculum. In this observational study, the integrated learning programme had positive effects on students’ knowledge of basic and applied pharmacology, improved their pharmacotherapy skills, and increased satisfaction with education and self-confidence in prescribing. Whether this training method leads to better patient care remains to be established.     

Educating Pharmacy Students About Underserved Populations Using Patient Speakers and Simulation Activities

Objective. To assess the impact of the Patient Voices series on Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students.Methods. A series of patient speakers and integrated simulation activities focused on underserved populations, otherwise known as the Patient Voices series, was embedded into a pharmacy skills laboratory curriculum. First-year PharmD students’ self-ratings of confidence were compared on pre- and post-course surveys. Using evaluations from first-year introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs), student self-evaluation data were compared to preceptor evaluations of student performance. Open-ended responses to course evaluations from first- and second-year PharmD students and student reflections from third-year PharmD students were assessed using conventional content analysis to identify and characterize student perceptions.Results. Significant increases were observed in first-year students’ confidence to show empathy (mean, 4.2 to 4.7) and to interact with patients from underserved communities (mean, 2.2 to 4.2). Preceptor ratings of students’ empathy were consistent with the students’ self-rated abilities, while students’ self-ratings on cultural sensitivity were higher than the preceptors’ ratings. Qualitative analysis of course evaluation surveys and reflections revealed common themes identified by students, such as understanding different perspectives, increased empathy for patients, and the value of including this content in the curriculum.Conclusion. Student confidence to interact with patients from a variety of underserved populations increased following introduction of the Patient Voices series into the PharmD curriculum. Students perceived the series to be a valuable learning experience.     

Does self-reflection and peer-assessment improve Saudi pharmacy students’ academic performance and metacognitive skills?

Background: The patient-centered focus of clinical pharmacy practice which demands nuanced application of specialized knowledge and skills targeted to meeting patient-specific therapeutic needs warrant that the training strategy used for PharmD graduates must empower with the ability to use the higher level cognitive processes and critical thinking effectively in service delivery. However, the historical disposition to learning in the Middle East and among Saudi students appeared heavily focused on rote memorization and recall of memorized facts. Objectives: To assess the impact of active pedagogic strategies such as self-reflection and peer assessment on pharmacy students’ academic performance and metacognitive skills, and evaluate students’ feedback on the impact of these active pedagogic strategies on their overall learning experience. Method: An exploratory prospective cohort study was conducted among 4th year students at the College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia to assess the impact of self-reflection and peer-assessment in a semester-wide assessment tasks in two compulsory first semester 4th year courses (Therapeutics-3 and Pharmacoeconomics). An end-of-course evaluation survey with a pre-tested 5-item open-ended questionnaire was also conducted to evaluate students’ feedback on the impact of active pedagogic strategies on their overall learning experience. Result: Male students (study group) constituted 40.7% of the cohort while 59.3% were females (control group) with mean ± SD age of 23.2 ± 5.6 and 22.1 ± 4.9 years respectively. The mean ± SD scores for quizzes, mid-term and final exams, and the overall percentage pass were significantly higher in the study group for both courses (P < 0.001). The majority of the students in the study group opined that the exposure to active pedagogic strategies enabled them to improve their use of critical thinking, facilitated deeper engagement with their learning and improved their clinical decision-making and discussion skills. Conclusion: The use of active pedagogic strategies such as self-reflection and peer-assessment appeared to significantly improve examination performance, facilitate deep and constructive engagement with learning and fostered students’ confidence in the use of critical thinking and clinical decision-making.     

An Elective Course on Antimicrobial Stewardship

Objective. To implement an antimicrobial stewardship (AS) elective course for second-year and third-year pharmacy students and to assess its impact on students’ perceptions regarding the application of AS principles.Design. A 2-credit elective course focusing on principles of AS incorporated prelecture didactic recordings with primary literature and guideline-based reading assignments, in-class active-learning group work and student-led presentations, and student-generated examination items.Assessment. Perceptions were assessed by precourse and postcourse survey items. Graded course assessments included completion of preclass assignments (readings, prerecorded lecture and writing assessment items), in-class active participation and group presentations, a midpoint examination, and a final examination.Conclusion. An AS-themed elective course in a doctor of pharmacy curriculum incorporating preclass, self-directed learning and in-class group-based active-learning strategies positively impacted students’ perceived understanding of AS strategies.     

A Novel Structured Format for Engaging Pharmacy Students in Bioethics Discussions

Objective: To describe an active, structured ethics/professionalism discussion format developed for an elective course titled Ethics and Professionalism in Pharmacy.Design: The format uses the acronym ETHICS (Evaluate, Teach, Hear, Interview, Concede, Self-reflect). Before class, students evaluated (Evaluate) literature pertaining to ethics/professionalism topics. Class consisted of faculty-led ethics/professionalism lecture (Teach), student-driven, case discussion, and online self-reflection. Guided by Hear, Interview, and Concede, groups addressed cases from stakeholder perspectives (patient, pharmacist, etc.) considering ethical rules and principles. At the end of class, students answered self-reflection questions. Precourse and postcourse surveys evaluated the impact on students’ perceptions of ethical and professional tenets.Assessment: The format allowed students to actively engage in ethics/professionalism discussions, transforming class into an interactive, structured, student-centered session with self-reflection.Conclusion: The format allowed application of concepts to controversial situations. Although the format was created for a pharmacy elective, it is adaptable to any teaching situation.     

Student Scientific Inquiry in the Core Curriculum

Objective. To design and implement a required student-driven research program as a capstone experience in the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum.Design. A research proposal in the form of a competitive grant application was required for each of 65 fourth-year students in an inaugural PharmD class at Touro College of Pharmacy in New York. The focus of the proposals was on hypothesis-driven research in basic science, clinical research, health outcomes, and public health.Assessment. Students’ research proposals were graded using a standardized grading instrument. On a post-experience survey, most students rated the overall experience positively, indicating increased confidence in their research skills. About two-thirds of faculty members were satisfied with their students’ performance, and the great majority thought the experience would be useful in the students’ careers.Conclusion. The capstone research project was a positive experience for fourth-year students.     

A Concept Mapping Activity to Enhance Pharmacy Students’ Metacognition and Comprehension of Fundamental Disease State Knowledge

Objective. To examine the impact of pre-class concept mapping activities on pharmacy students'' ability to self-assess their degree of foundational disease state knowledge and predict their pre-class quiz performance.Methods. Second year pharmacy students in a problem-based learning course were responsible for self-directed learning of foundational knowledge for 14 disease states. After completing their independent pre-class reading, students worked in groups to create concept maps for which feedback was provided for four laboratory sessions, worked in groups to create concept maps but received no formal feedback for three laboratory sessions, and did not engage in any formal group activity for seven laboratory sessions. The day following each session, prior to the formal in-class discussion, students were asked to predict the number of questions they could answer correctly on a quiz covering foundational knowledge and then completed the quiz. Quiz performance was compared based on the three conditions, and bias and absolute bias were calculated to evaluate students’ metacognitive skills.Results. There was no difference in pharmacy students’ metacognition based on the conditions, as reflected by inaccuracy between predicted and actual quiz scores. However, when students had engaged in concept mapping the previous day, their quiz performance was significantly higher than when they had not.Conclusion. Concept mapping did not improve pharmacy students’ metacognitive skills but did have a small effect on their quiz performance. More research is needed to tease apart the roles of concept mapping, group activity, and feedback in altering pharmacy students’ quiz performance and metacognitive skills.     

Evaluation of an Injection Training and Certification Program for Pharmacy Students

Objective. To evaluate an injection training and certification program for third-year (P3) pharmacy students, and to measure the impact of students’ administration of immunizations at an influenza clinic on their knowledge, skills, and competence in immunization.Design. A repeated measures design was used to assess students’ injection skills across the injection training and certification program and the influenza clinic. A repeated measures design was also used to evaluate students’ self-reported knowledge, experience, and confidence.Assessment. Postcertification and during influenza clinic comparisons showed significant improvement in students’ knowledge, experience, and confidence after taking part in the influenza clinic. University staff members and students indicated in a survey that they were satisfied with the clinic services provided by pharmacy students.Conclusion. The injection training and certification program and the university influenza clinic were effective in enhancing and fostering student skills development.     

Short and long-term impact of pharmacovigilance training on the pharmacovigilance knowledge of medical students

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the short and long-term impact of pharmacovigilance (PV) training on the 5^th year medical students’ knowledge about definitions and on the awareness of the regulatory aspects in PV.

Materials and Methods:

In academic year 2010/11, the students completed structured, questionnaire before and just after training. They also completed the same questionnaire 1-year after the training.

Results:

The students’ knowledge about PV significantly increased after training in the short term (P < 0.001). However, the improvement decreased significantly in the long-term (P < 0.001). Although long-term scores were higher than the baseline score, the difference was not statistically significant. Total scores were 17.5 ± 2.0, 20.8 ± 2.0 and 18.0 ± 2.5; before, at short and long-term after the training.

Conclusion:

PV training increased the students’ knowledge significantly. However, in the long-term, the impact of the training is limited. Repeated training of PV should be planned.KEY WORDS: Awareness, impact, knowledge, medical training, pharmacovigilance     

Impact of Student- Versus Instructor-Directed Case Discussions on Student Performance in a Pharmacotherapy Capstone Course

Objective. To evaluate the impact of incorporating student-directed (SD) vs instructor-directed (ID) active learning on student performance in a pharmacotherapy capstone course.Design. This 9-credit course was redesigned from exclusively ID case discussions to a format in which half were SD and half were ID. Student performance on evaluation questions derived from SD sessions was compared with that from ID sessions.Assessment. Overall, students (n=299) performed better on ID-session questions than on SD-session questions (78.7% vs 75.3%, correctly answered, respectively; p<0.001). For written evaluations, students performed better on ID-session questions than on SD-session questions (79.8% vs 73.9%, respectively; p<0.001). For verbal evaluations, students performed better on SD-session questions than on ID-session questions (79.5% vs 74.5%, respectively; p<0.001). After the course revision, student confidence regarding their ability to think critically, solve problems, make decisions, and pursue lifelong learning was high, and student and faculty feedback was positive.Conclusion. Student performance in a pharmacotherapy capstone course remained acceptable when a combination of SD and ID active learning was used, but the addition of SD learning did not translate to better performance on course evaluations.     

Pharmacy student’s perceptions,behaviours and attitudes toward virtual reality simulation

AimsThe definition of virtual reality simulation (VRS) used for study is the recreation of realistic simulation in a fully online situation with an immersive environment for learning an activity. The study aims to evaluate pharmacy students’ perspectives, behavioral and attitude characteristics in the process of VRS course requiring practical skills.Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional study was based on quantitative questionnaires analysis. A five-point Likert Scale (rating from 1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neutral; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly Agree) was utilized to measure the extent to which the students agrees on 30 statements comprised in A-E sections related to VRS. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were studied by the Cronbach’s Alpha calculation.ResultsA total of 119 junior and senior pharmacy students, aged 18–25, participated in this study. There is no significant gender difference (P > 0.05) and grade difference (P > 0.05) in mean perception score, mean attitude score, mean behavior score and comparison score respectively. Most pharmacy students had positive perception that VRS could help them in practical ability (61.4 %), autonomous learning (68.9 %) and theoretical knowledge (61.4 %). Nevertheless, less than half the students agreed that VRS courses were indispensable (44.5 %) and needed to be increased (42.9 %). Moreover, the ‘disagree’ statement (33.6 %) exceeded ‘agree’ statement (27.7 %) about the question of whether preferring VRS courses to lab teaching. Interestingly, a significant positive correlation that was observed between mean perception score and mean attitude score (r = 0.76, p < 0.001), mean comparison (r = 0.68, p < 0.001) and mean behavior (r = 067, p < 0.001), which revealed that students who thought VRS was beneficial were more likely to accept it.ConclusionThe study highlights the need to establish an interactive, immersive and measurable VRS courses. It is suggested that good interaction between the faculty and student, technology improvement and blended programmatic assessment should be involved in challenges for implementing VRS courses.     

Implementing a Novel Software Program to Support Pharmacy Students’ Reflective Practice in Scientific Research

Objective. To explore pharmacy students’ perceptions of a novel web application tool (AcaWriter) implemented in a Master of Pharmacy curriculum to support reflective thinking in scientific research.Methods. A qualitative research design involving a 50-minute focus group (n=12) was used. The focus group session was audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using the Braun and Clarke framework.Results. Analysis generated four themes related to AcaWriter’s utility in enhancing students’ research thinking and capacity. The themes identified included: ease of use to prompt reflection, tangible tool with non-judgmental capacity; benefits for enhancing self and peer reflection on research techniques and group dynamics; benefits of the reflective writing process to enhance research capacity compared with engaging in reflective dialogue; and benefits beyond the writing process: cultivating self-improvement and self-confidence.Conclusion. The findings of this study show that a novel web application implemented within a pharmacy curriculum can assist students’ self and peer reflection on a research task. Further research is needed to explore the impact of using this tool and its relationship with academic performance and outcomes.