COVID-19-Driven Improvements and Innovations in Pharmacy Education: A Scoping Review

Survey of drug information, literature evaluation, and biostatistics curricula among US colleges of pharmacy

OBJECTIVE

This survey assessed the current status of drug information education among US colleges of pharmacy, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

In December 2022, an electronic survey was sent to 140 US colleges of pharmacy. Survey questions assessed curricular content, methods of delivery, and course activities.

RESULTS

One hundred two survey responses were received, which represented 78 colleges. Many colleges reported teaching drug information, literature evaluation, and biostatistics in separate courses, but about half of colleges combine these topics into one or two courses. Most drug information instruction occurred in the first two years of pharmacy school, and most instructional delivery was described as in-person. Didactic lectures were commonly used in drug information courses but about half of colleges also used active learning methods such as flipped classroom/team-based learning. Topics with which students struggled most included critically evaluating medical literature and summarizing basic biostatistics and research design methods. Responding colleges reported some course-related changes in the past five years and some permanent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Colleges of pharmacy report a variety of course structures and instructional approaches to teach drug information topics. Active learning strategies are used by many colleges. Some colleges reported permanent changes to their drug information teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How best to teach the drug information topics that students struggle with as reported by survey respondents remains an area for future study.

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.

Impact of a Mock OSCE on Student Confidence in Applying the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process

The Medical and Pharmacy Student Collaboration (MAPSC) student organization at the University of Southern California, Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, created an extracurricular, peer-led, virtual group mock objective structured clinical examination (MOSCE) to expose first-year pharmacy students (P1s) to the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (PPCP). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a MAPSC MOSCE on P1s self-reported confidence in applying the PPCP and on patient communication, medication knowledge, and clinical skills. An anonymous, optional, self-reported survey was administered to P1s before and after the event, where they rated their confidence on a scale of 0-100 (0 = not confident, 100 = certainly confident). The statistical analysis was a paired two-tailed t-test with a significance level of p < 0.05. A total of 152 P1s and 30 facilitators attended the MOSCE. One hundred thirty-nine students met the inclusion criteria and were included in the data analysis. There was a statistically significant difference in the change in self-reported confidence for all PPCP components and learning outcomes. The results of our study strongly indicate that introducing P1 students to the PPCP through a MAPSC MOSCE format is a valuable experience.

Opinions and experiences on the provision of care to people with mental illnesses: a qualitative study with Doctor of Pharmacy graduates after a rotation in psychiatry

BACKGROUND

Pharmacists are vital to optimizing therapy of people with mental illnesses. Limited knowledge, lack of confidence, and mental health-related stigma can lead to pharmacists' reluctance in the provision of pharmaceutical care to this population. Advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) in mental health have been reported as valuable learning opportunities to overcome these challenges.

AIM

This study aimed to explore PharmD graduates' perceived preparedness, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions on influencing factors for the provision of pharmaceutical care to people with mental illnesses after completing an APPE rotation in psychiatry.

METHOD

All PharmD graduates who had completed a rotation in psychiatry were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. An interview guide was developed based on a literature review. A total of 11 PharmD graduates agreed to participate in the interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and analysed inductively using thematic analysis and following a phenomenological approach.

RESULTS

Five themes were identified: Prior familiarity to mental health, opinions on the rotation, views on stigma, rotation's areas of improvement, and the positive impact of the rotation on practice. Although participants started the psychiatric rotation with low confidence and a sense of apprehension, they described their experience as unique, eye-opening, and insightful. Familiarity with mental health conditions before the rotation were perceived as a challenge to achieving full confidence in mental health care provision.

CONCLUSION

For the most part, the APPE in psychiatry was viewed as a positive opportunity for enhancing the PharmD graduates' insight, knowledge, and skills for pharmaceutical care provision to people with mental illnesses.

Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of Remote versus Face-to-Face Learning Experience

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a large shift from face-to-face (FTF) to remote learning. Evaluating students' perceptions of remote learning provides educators with opportunity to inform their instructional methods. This study sought to evaluate pharmacy students' self-perceived (1) confidence, (2) preparedness, (3) satisfaction, and (4) motivation following remote vs. FTF classes. An electronic survey was distributed to six pharmacy student cohorts enrolled in the University of Findlay College of Pharmacy during April 2021 to measure the objectives. The Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman's rank correlation tests were used to analyze the data (alpha = 0.05). A total of 151 students completed the survey. While the responses differed among the cohorts, first-professional year students reported lower motivation to study (p = 0.008), engage (p = 0.008), satisfaction with content presentation (p = 0.05), preparedness for exams (p < 0.001), and confidence to communicate (p = 0.008) and succeed in a career (p < 0.001) when studying remotely vs. taking FTF classes compared to fourth-professional year students. Positive correlations were observed between students who felt motivated to engage and study (ρ = 0.501, p < 0.001), motivated to study and exam preparedness (ρ = 0.511, p < 0.001), satisfied with course material presentation and professor accessibility (ρ = 0.688, p < 0.001), and exam preparedness (ρ = 0.521, p < 0.001), and felt prepared for exams and able to succeed in a pharmacy career (ρ = 0.573, p < 0.001). Taking the above results into consideration, pharmacy educators may designate more time and instructional support to first-professional year students in an effort to improve students' perceptions of motivation, satisfaction, confidence, and preparedness.

Impact of Different Attitudes toward Face-to-Face and Online Classes on Learning Outcomes in Japan

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, online-based learning has become mainstream in many countries, and its learning outcomes have been evaluated. However, various studies have shown that online-based learning needs to be optimized in the future, and the number of reports for this purpose is currently not sufficient. The purpose in this study was to determine the relationship between academic performance and attitudes toward face-to-face and remote formats among Japanese pharmacy students enrolled in a course designed for knowledge acquisition. A combination of face-to-face and remote formats was used in a practice course for sixth-year pharmacy students, designed to improve academic performance through knowledge acquisition. To evaluate learning outcomes, we used a questionnaire that was administered to the course participants and the results of examinations conducted before and after the course. Online-oriented and face-to-face-oriented groups differed in their attitudes toward the ease of asking questions of faculty and communicating with the faculty members and classmates in each format. In a knowledge acquisition course for Japanese pharmacy students, the study revealed that the same academic outcomes were achieved, regardless of the students' own perceptions of their aptitude for face-to-face or remote learning style.

Changes in Academic Performance after Transitioning to Remote Proctoring: A Before-After Evaluation

Remote proctoring is often used to ensure testing integrity in a distance education environment but may impact academic performance. This quasi-experimental study aimed to evaluate changes in examination scores after transitioning to remote proctoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student pharmacists (n = 384) served as their own controls in this before-after analysis of examination scores with in-person versus remote proctoring. To assess differences in examination scores among students with varying levels of testing anxiety, students were classified into low, moderate, or high testing anxiety groups based on their Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale–Second Edition (CTAS-2) score. Students were also stratified into two groups based on their cumulative grade point average (GPA). After transitioning to remote proctoring, examination scores significantly decreased for first-year (P1) students but significantly increased for second-year (P2) students. When stratified by CTAS-2 score, no significant difference in examination scores was found. When stratified by GPA, no significant difference in examination scores was found for P1 students, but a significant improvement was noted for P2 students with remote proctoring. The results of this study indicate that examination scores do not consistently improve or decline after introducing remote proctoring even when considering a student’s GPA and level of testing anxiety.