MyDispense simulation in pharmacy education: a scoping review

Online simulation versus traditional classroom learnings in clinical pharmacy education: effect on students' knowledge, satisfaction and self-confidence

BACKGROUND

Over the course of the past few years, the area of medical education has experienced a substantial movement towards the establishment of online learning platforms and resources. This study aimed to to evaluate the efficacy of an online simulation learning intervention, MyDispense®, compared to traditional classroom learning in terms of enhancing knowledge, satisfaction, and self-confidence among participants.

METHODS

A multicentre randomized controlled study was conducted among pharmacy students who were assigned either intervention MyDispense® or control traditional classroom learning groups. They were eligible if they previously had experience with online simulation learning. A previously validated questioner were used to measure the outcome of knowledge, satisfaction and self-confidence.

RESULTS

Both the intervention and control groups revealed significant improvement in knowledge, the P value for pre-post knowledge scores for each group was < 0,001. Despite these internal improvements, this study's findings showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) between the intervention and control groups on knowledge gain, satisfaction, or self-confidence. This represents comparable outcomes irrespective of the group's exposure to intervention.

CONCLUSION

The study evaluated the efficacy of online simulation learning intervention MyDispense® in comparison to traditional classroom learning. While both strategies effectively improved knowledge, satisfaction, and self-confidence, the findings demonstrated that the online simulation yielded equivalent learning benefits. MyDispense® could be an alternative to traditional education in situations where face to face learning is not feasible, with comparable learning outcomes.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

not applicable.

Development and implementation of a Community Pharmacy "Bootcamp" activity - A pilot study

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this study are to describe 1) the implementation of and 2) student performance and perceptions during an innovative classroom activity.

METHODS

The Bootcamp was designed as an exercise in productive failure for second-year PharmD students enrolled in a community pharmacy elective course. A prescription verification exercise was introduced; however, students were intermittently interrupted with common community pharmacist tasks. To simulate these tasks (e.g.: receiving a phone call, counseling a patient, administering a vaccine, checking controlled prescription monitoring database etc.), students were directed by the instructor to perform other physical activities (e.g. walking around the classroom, doing jumping jacks, sending an email, etc.). After the activity, accuracy was assessed and each student uploaded a video reflection which were analyzed with content analysis.

RESULTS

The activity was delivered in person in 2021 and virtually in 2022 during a two-hour class period. Of the 63 students, 86 % fully completed all 12 prescription verifications in the allotted time; however, the average accuracy was 53 %. Content analysis of video reflections generated three themes: unique and fun activity, importance of attention to detail, and enhanced understanding of pharmacy workflow from the pharmacist's perspective.

CONCLUSIONS

The Community Pharmacy Bootcamp was a fun and engaging way to expose students to the realities of daily practice in the community pharmacy setting. This activity was effective in helping students discover the need for development of further skills in addition to clinical expertise. This novel activity may be adapted to other environments including integration into required coursework.

Evaluating the use of virtual simulation training to support pharmacy students' competency development in conducting dispensing tasks

BACKGROUND

The incorporation of digital health technologies in undergraduate teaching, such as the MyDispense program, provides a simulated opportunity to support students' competency development in dispensing tasks.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of using MyDispense, an online pharmacy simulation platform, on pharmacy students' self-reported reaction, learning, and accuracy in performing dispensing tasks.

METHODOLOGY

16 MyDispense cases simulating real-practice scenarios from prescription dispensing and verification to patient counseling were created for 55 professional year 1 pharmacy students as part of a professional skills course. A pre-post survey, nestled on Kirkpatrick's Model of Training Evaluation, was conducted on participants in the cohort to evaluate how the incorporation of MyDispense supported their development of dispensing tasks. A virtual formative assessment was also done using MyDispense to compare students' self-reported accuracy with faculty assessment scores to evaluate how MyDispense can support students' knowledge and metacognitive abilities in dispensing.

RESULTS

The study showed an increase in students' confidence after using MyDispense, which led to an increase in the "learning" level of Kirkpatrick's Model. However, small changes were observed in other levels and sublevels of Kirkpatrick's Model. A notable discrepancy was observed between students' self-assessment scores and faculty assessment scores, with students overestimating their performances. Correlation analysis showed a weak relationship between students' self-assessment scores and the learning level of Kirkpatrick's Model.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the positive impact of MyDispense on pharmacy students' confidence in dispensing. However, virtual simulation training may be best incorporated when students have exposure to experiential training placements, to maximize the learning outcomes and knowledge in dispensing processes.

The effectiveness of a structured validated questionnaire to assess student perception with virtual pharmacy simulation in pharmacy practice experiential education

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

MyDispense is one of the virtual simulations that has already been established as a suitable alternative for live experiential education in the pharmacy curriculum. However, there are no structured validated questionnaires available to assess the students' perception while integrating MyDispense with pharmacy practice experiential education. Therefore, the present study aimed to validate a structured questionnaire and use the questionnaire to assess the student perception of various pharmacy practice experiential education.

METHODS

Content and construct validity procedure was used to validate the questionnaire. Two hundred students consented to participate in validating the questionnaire. The validated questionnaire assessed the students' perception of integrating MyDispense with Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience 2 (IPPE2) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) courses. The questionnaire was structured with four domains which were: exercise, instructor, technical, and communication. Each domain carried five items; therefore, the whole questionnaire had 20 items that succeeded in content validity. In the survey, 121 fourth-year and 117 fifth-year Pharm.D. students volunteered to convey their perception of integrating MyDispense with IPPE 2 and APPE, respectively. The survey was conducted before and after the MyDispense exam in both the courses.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω coefficients were > 0.8 in all four domains, indicating that the items related to the four domains have good internal consistency. In Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), two items were found to cross-load in the exercise domain and removed. Therefore, the EFA proposes 18 items for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In CFA, five fit indices were found to be satisfactory, and this indicates construct was good enough to assess the student perception. In IPPE 2, the pre-test response, the students had significantly higher satisfaction (p < 0.05) with all five items related to the technical domain. In APPE, the students had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher perception of all the items related to the exercise and technical domain in the pre-test compared to the post-test. Therefore, the student's pre-test feedback allowed the instructor to identify and make the necessary corrections in the exercises to improve the quality exercises.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a validated 18-item questionnaire to assess the student perception of integrating MyDispense in experiential education. The integration of MyDispense in experiential education needs to be done carefully by assessing student perception.

Considerations for conducting a scoping review in pharmacy education

Interrogating the literature is among the first steps a researcher undertakes when actuating a research project or also when any scholar might seek to know what has been done in an area, best practices for conducting a certain activity, or simply to seek answers for a question ranging from one's own personal curiosity to those that might affect departmental or institutional guidance. Decisions on the type of review process to undertake is one that is not taken lightly. This methods commentary outlines the reasons for conducting a scoping review versus a systematic review for topics related to pharmacy education. Considerations for conducting the scoping review are outlined including considerations for writing a protocol prior to conducting a scoping review, to potential platforms to use for transparency of sharing data, processes related to guidelines for data extraction and types of search strategies utilized.

Virtual self-care simulations for third-year pharmacy skills laboratory courses in three institutions

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

This study was designed to determine whether a virtual, self-care activity improved knowledge and confidence in third-year student pharmacists.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

Third-year student pharmacists (n = 386) from three institutions participated in the virtual self-care simulation during their respective practice laboratory course. A pre- and post-assessment collected 10 knowledge and five confidence questions, self-reported on 0-100 scale, mapped to learning outcomes and pharmacy standards. Responses for participants who provided consent and had linked assessments were analyzed. Additionally, students participated in a perception assessment following the simulation with the post-assessment. Each knowledge question was scored as binary (correct/incorrect), presented as percentage, and significance identified with a McNemar's test. Total knowledge score and confidence changes were presented as means with standard deviations and significance with a paired t-test. Student perceptions were presented as frequencies and percentages.

FINDINGS

Total knowledge assessment demonstrated a significant improvement (p < 0.001) for the entire cohort of 198 study participants. Upon additional analysis, a single institution led the cohort to significant increase, with variable improvement and significance for each individual question. Confidence improved for the entire cohort of students and at each institution individually. The students perceived the virtual self-care activity favorably.

SUMMARY

The third-year student virtual self-care activity improved knowledge and confidence with varying significance between institutions. Future studies will focus on the impact of continued reinforcement of self-care activities on student growth in knowledge and confidence.