A microteaching exercise to develop performance-based abilities in pharmacy students

A cross-sectional study to evaluate teaching skills of postgraduate medical students using component skill approach in microteaching

BACKGROUND

Microteaching is a teacher training technique where a teachers get a constructive feedback from peer or faculty in order to improve their teaching skills. Microteaching is conducted at the departmental level. By evaluating the components of microteaching, better teaching skills can be developed in postgraduate (PG) students.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to determine the pattern of teaching skills and to evaluate the components of teaching skills of microteaching in PG students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

It was a retrospective record-based study done over a period of 1 month. Microteaching assessment records of 34 PG students of the department of community medicine were analyzed.

RESULTS

Teaching skills including setting induction during the class, lesson planning, presentation, and use of audio-visual aids were found to be satisfactory. Students lacked the skills of interaction and summarization of the topic.

CONCLUSION

PG students' performance with many components was satisfactory, but still, there is a scope for improvement. Internalization of microteaching skills can make doctors a better teacher, a better learner, and a better health educator.

Microlearning in health professions education: a scoping review protocol

REVIEW QUESTIONS:.

A Pharmacy Elective Course on Creative Thinking, Innovation, and TED Talks

Objective. To implement and assess an elective course designed to enhance student creative thinking and presentation skills. Design. A two-credit elective course was developed that incorporated creative-thinking exercises, article discussions pertaining to creativity, TED Talk (TED Conferences, New York, NY) analyses, and presentation design and delivery exercises. Assessment. Assessment instruments included pre- and post-course Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). A scoring rubric was developed and used to evaluate a final mock TED Talk presented to faculty and students. Course evaluations were also used to assess student experiences in the course. Students' TTCT verbal creativity scores increased significantly (p<0.05) during the course and their mock TED Talk mean scores (135±6.4) out of 150 were rated highly. Conclusion. The outcomes from this elective course confirmed that pharmacy students could develop and present an original "idea worth sharing" using the TED Talk format.

Improving quality of home-based postnatal care by microteaching of multipurpose workers in rural and urban slum areas of Chandigarh, India: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Microteaching is an efficient teaching tool to improve skills. Until now, its use is very limited in the health sector. A pilot study was carried out to improve the quality of home-based postnatal care by microteaching of health workers (HWs) and ascertain its feasibility for supportive supervision.

METHODS

All (n=12) the HWs catering to a population of ~0.1 million were video recorded while performing home-based postnatal check up in Chandigarh from August 2013 to December 2014. After each round, HWs were shown their videos and trained in the facility and at home. Video recordings, assessments followed by training, continued until HWs acquired the intended skills. A pretested structured checklist based on the national home-based postnatal care guidelines was used for recording and assessing of postnatal skills. A score "0" given for no task, "1" for incorrectly done or partially done task, and "2" for correct task. The average score of each round was calculated and compared.

RESULTS

The overall skill assessment score improved from 0.64 to 1.76, newborn examination skill from 0.52 to 1.63, maternal examination from 0.54 to 1.62, and counseling from 1.01 to 1.85 after three rounds of video recording. The proportion of HWs carrying a thermometer increased from 21% to 100%. Second and third rounds of video recording and microteaching were successfully carried out by the program supervisors.

CONCLUSION

This was the first study to report on the effective use of microteaching in improving home-based postnatal care skills of the health care workers and its feasibility for supportive supervision.

Can microteaching be used for teaching postgraduate psychiatry residents in a small group?

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of using microteaching for teaching postgraduate psychiatry residents in a small-group setting.

METHODS

Twelve postgraduate psychiatry residents attending the tutorial program were employed as study participants. Five of the consenting residents took part in the microteaching session in which subtopics were assigned. Feedback was obtained from the presenters and other participants regarding the microteaching session.

RESULTS

All of the presenters reported the microteaching session to be helpful in gaining a deeper understanding of the topic. Among the other participants, most found the microteaching exercise to be useful.

CONCLUSION

Although preliminary, our findings suggest that microteaching can be used for training postgraduate psychiatry residents.

Developing pharmacy student communication skills through role-playing and active learning

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact on pharmacy students of a communication course, which used role-playing to develop active-learning skills.

DESIGN

Students role-playing pharmacists in patient care scenarios were critiqued by students and pharmacist faculty members. Grading was performed using the rubric inspired by Bruce Berger's Communication Skills for Pharmacists. Written skills were evaluated using student written critique questionnaires. Students completed precourse and postcourse self-assessment surveys. Preceptor evaluations were analyzed for course impact.

ASSESSMENT

Students demonstrated improvement in oral skills based on role-play scores (45.87/50) after practice sessions. The average score based on the student questionnaire was 9.31/10. Gain was demonstrated in all defined course objectives. Impact on introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) communication objectives was insignificant. Student evaluations for course and teaching strategy reflected a high average.

CONCLUSION

Study results demonstrated improvement in oral and written communication skills that may help improve interprofessional teamwork between pharmacists and other health care providers.

Assessing outcomes and perceived benefits of a professional development seminar series

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the outcomes of alumni who were enrolled in a professional development seminar series during their doctor of pharmacy program.

DESIGN

A weekly development seminar series was administered over 5 semesters with the goal of bringing academic advisees together to help develop performance-based abilities, prepare them for entry into the profession after graduation, and provide exposure to different career opportunities.

ASSESSMENT

A survey instrument containing 39 Likert-type scale items, 2 open-ended questions, and a 10-item demographic survey was created and content-validated to assess the effect of the seminar series on alumni advisees' perceived outcomes and professional development since their graduation. The survey was electronically forwarded to advisees from the graduating classes of 2005 to 2012, and response data was collected with Qualtrics, a web-based survey service. A total of 36 percent of alumni responded to the survey. Respondents cited exposure to career alternatives and opportunities, development of presentation and communication skills, networking, and the importance of advisor/mentor relationships as benefits of the seminar series.

CONCLUSION

The professional development seminar series has demonstrated a positive impact on alumni advisees' career development and professional outcomes, most notably relating to career path exposure, communication skills, and advisor/mentor relationships.

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.

Microteaching, an efficient technique for learning effective teaching

Microteaching, a teacher training technique currently practiced worldwide, provides teachers an opportunity to perk up their teaching skills by improving the various simple tasks called teaching skills. With the proven success among the novice and seniors, microteaching helps to promote real-time teaching experiences. The core skills of microteaching such as presentation and reinforcement skills help the novice teachers to learn the art of teaching at ease and to the maximum extent. The impact of this technique has been widely seen in various forms of education such as health sciences, life sciences, and other areas. The emerging changes in medical curricula by the Medical Council of India and the role of medical teachers envisage the need of this special training of teachers and monitoring of their skills for their continued efficient performance at any age. The alleged limitations of microteaching can be minimized by implementing this at the departmental level in several sequences. The author made literature search of research and review articles in various educational databases, journals, and books. From the reference list of published articles, books were also reviewed. This paper presents an outline of the various phases of microteaching, core teaching skills, implementation aspects, and the impact of microteaching on medical education.

Guest speakers in a professional development seminar series

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact guest speakers have on student development in a professional development seminar series.

DESIGN

Over a 5-semester period, presentations were given by 18 guest speakers as part of a professional development seminar series.

ASSESSMENT

A 28-item survey instrument was constructed and administered to 68 students to assess the impact of the guest speakers on the students' professional development. Forty-six (68%) students completed the survey instrument, and the results demonstrated the value of the guest speakers, most notably in the areas of career development and professional responsibility.

CONCLUSION

Exposing pharmacy students to guest speakers from varied pharmacy career paths positively impacted students' knowledge of career options and professional development.

Pharmacist instruction of physical assessment for pharmacy students

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of a change from nurse to pharmacist instructors and a new curriculum intended to encourage students' use of physical assessment skills.

DESIGN

Pharmacist faculty members redesigned the physical assessment curriculum to focus on those assessment skills most likely to be performed by practicing pharmacists. The 5 focus areas were general assessment skills, gastrointestinal system, pulmonary system, central and peripheral nervous system, and cardiovascular system. Instructional methods used included prelaboratory assignments, brief introductory lectures, demonstration of assessment techniques, application of techniques with a laboratory partner, and demonstration of competence using a mannequin.

ASSESSMENT

A 16-item survey instrument was administered to determine students' perceptions of the revised curriculum. Students who received instruction from pharmacist faculty members used their physical assessment skills more, especially during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), than students who received instruction from nurse faculty members. Students instructed by pharmacist faculty members also felt more comfortable with their skills and rated the instruction as more practical.

CONCLUSION

A redesigned curriculum and pharmacist-led instruction resulted in improved pharmacy student comfort with and use of physical assessment skills.

Active-learning assignments to integrate basic science and clinical course material

OBJECTIVE

To develop, implement, and evaluate active-learning exercises requiring the integration and application of pathophysiology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutics knowledge of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis to formulate therapeutic recommendations for patients with musculoskeletal disorders.

DESIGN

Two team-based case study exercises, one evaluating a patient with osteoarthritis and the second, a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, were developed, incorporating material and questions from pathophysiology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutics. The learning assignments were implemented in a required pharmacotherapy module.

ASSESSMENT

Student learning was evaluated using performance on the team-based case study exercises and on 2 examinations. A standard student course evaluation was used to assess students' impressions of the learning activity. The mean student grades for the osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis activities were 9.1 and 8.9, respectively, on a 10-point scale. The majority of students indicated that the learning exercises were more than adequate to excellent in helping students learn.

CONCLUSION

The addition of active-learning activities was successful in teaching pharmacy students the knowledge needed to formulate therapeutic recommendations for patients with musculoskeletal disorders.