Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning最新文献

Objectives

To evaluate the learning gain and students' perceptions towards Jigsaw collaborative learning in comparison with lectures in learning about pharmacokinetic changes in special populations.

Methods

Undergraduates learn about A-D-M-E of specific populations via Jigsaw collaborative learning and didactic lectures. Pre- and post-lesson quizzes were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching method in terms of knowledge gain. Surveys comprising Likert scale statements and open-ended questions were conducted to elucidate students' perception towards the teaching methods.

Results

From a class of 192 students, 118 (62%) and 110 (57%) students completed the pre- and post-lecture quizzes, respectively, while 176 (92%) and 168 (88%) students completed the pre- and post-Home Group discussion of Jigsaw quizzes, respectively. There was an improvement of 22.2% and 14.3% in median percentage quiz scores for the lecture and Jigsaw method respectively. Most students agreed that they have learned (54–60%) and collaborated (78–89%) through the Jigsaw method and rated Jigsaw as useful for their learning (54%). Open-ended survey responses offered a mixed conclusion where the didactic lecture was perceived to be as, or more effective than the Jigsaw method.

Conclusion

Learning gains were observed through the Jigsaw collaborative learning method which relied solely on peer-teaching, despite students perceiving it to be not as effective as lecture. The method provided opportunities for active and peer-learning. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effects of this teaching method.

Introduction

In Switzerland, becoming a licensed pharmacist requires succeeding a federal entry-to-practice exam that includes an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Candidates from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) exhibited a higher failure rate in this part of the examination in comparison to candidates from other Swiss institutions. The institution made a specific set of pedagogical changes to a 3-week pharmacy services course that is run during their Master's second year to prepare them for their entry-to-practice OSCE. One key change was a switch from a summative in-classroom OSCE to an on-line formative OSCE.

Methods

New teaching activities were introduced between 2019 2020 and 2021–2022 academic years to help students strengthen their patient-facing skills and prepare for the federal OSCE. These online activities consisted in formative OSCEs supplemented with group and individual debriefings and in 18 h clinical case simulations reproducing OSCE requirements and assessed with standardized evaluation grids. Failure rates before and after the introduction of these activities were compared, and their perceived usefulness by UNIGE candidates was collected through a questionnaire survey.

Results

The UNIGE failure rate decreased from 6.8% in 2018/2019 to 3.3% in 2022 following the implementation of the new teaching activities. The difference in failure rates between UNIGE and the other institutions became less pronounced in 2022 compared to 2018/2019. The redesigned Master's course was highlighted as useful for preparation, with all new activities perceived as beneficial. Questionnaire responses brought attention to challenges faced by UNIGE candidates, including stress management, insufficient information or practical training, and experiences related to quarantine. These insights informed further development of teaching methods.

Discussion

Although the results do not establish a direct link between participation in new teaching activities and increased performance, they suggest resolving the initial issue. Our findings relate to pedagogical concepts such as constructive alignment, formative assessment and examination anxiety, and generally support the benefits of online format.

Conclusion

This study used a participatory action research based on mixed methods to address a challenge in pharmacy education. Online teaching activities including formative OSCEs, case simulations and debriefings were implemented. Improved performance in entry-to-practice OSCE was subsequently observed. The results highlight the potential of formative, active, and constructively aligned online activities, such as role-playing and case simulation, to enhance patient-facing skills and improve outcomes in summative assessments of these skills.

Objective

Describe how receiving tobacco education within the PharmD curriculum affects 1) students' perceptions and knowledge of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and 2) willingness to counsel on cessation.

Methods

Eight institutions used a 29-item questionnaire to assess P1-P4 students' tobacco use, ENDS knowledge, cessation education, and perceptions in the fall of 2020. Students were divided into those who had received tobacco cessation education and those who had not.

Results

832 pharmacy students participated in the study with a 28% response rate. 56% of respondents were reported as receiving at least some tobacco education in the pharmacy curriculum. Quitting other forms of tobacco was the only perceived benefit of ENDS that was statistically different between groups. Tobacco education was associated with a greater likelihood of identifying localized harms of ENDS, including explosion/burns and mouth/throat irritation. Those with tobacco education were more likely to agree they received enough education to counsel on smoking cessation and were more likely to agree they are willing to counsel patients on quitting. Tobacco education was associated with an increased willingness to offer smoking cessation (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.14–2.13) but not more willing to offer ENDS cessation (0.85; 0.58–1.24). Personal history of combustible cigarette use was associated with increased willingness to counsel on both smoking (2.45; 1.27–4.73) and ENDS (2.79; 1.38–5.64) cessation.

Conclusion

Tobacco education in the pharmacy curriculum was associated with an increased likelihood of recognizing localized harms of ENDS and willingness to offer smoking cessation counseling but did not increase willingness to offer ENDS cessation counseling.

Introduction

Formative assessment assists learning, but how Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students perceive repeated formative assessment is unclear.

Methods and materials

This study sought to determine perceptions of repeated formative assessment with timely feedback on student learning in third-year PharmD students. This mixed methods approach included four surveys and a qualitative interview. Five formative assessments were assigned to third-year PharmD students throughout a fall course, and then repeated in a spring course for the same cohort. Paired pre-and post-course surveys administered in both courses contained items corresponding to formative assessment perceptions. Survey items included domains of knowledge, engagement, feedback, and confidence, and effect size was determined using Cohen's d. Following the second course, students were invited to take part in a qualitative interview to further characterize perceptions.

Results

Overall, 19 and 18 students participated in paired fall and spring pre- and post-surveys, respectively. The standardized mean difference for 12 out of 24 total survey items (58.3%) indicated small to medium positive effect sizes following the intervention, two out of 24 (8.3%) with medium to strong positive effect sizes, and one out of 24 (4.17%) with a strong positive effect size. Eight students participated in a quantitative interview; response themes included “think,” “critiquing,” “helped,” and “helpful.”

Conclusions

In two PharmD courses, students expressed a generally small to moderate perceived benefit on repeat formative assessment in domains representing knowledge, engagement, feedback, and confidence.

Purpose

This reflection aims to highlight the ambulatory care setting and its impact on pharmacy student experiential education through student involvement in developing a contraception pharmacy service. Although pharmacist-prescribed contraception has been permitted through collaborative practice agreements (CPA) for some time, the recent enactment of Indiana House Bill 1568 has sparked interest amongst students in promoting this service and enhancing accessibility.1.

Description

This manuscript invites readers into the dynamic experience of two Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) students engaged in developing and implementing a pharmacist-prescribed contraception service within an ambulatory care clinic. They address the creation, implementation, and feedback of students participating in developing this service throughout their four-week rotation.

Analysis/interpretation

Their experience contributes valuable insights into the evolving field of ambulatory care and its educational potential for student pharmacists.

Conclusions and implications

This reflection is a testament that such initiatives have valuable benefits not only for students but also for health systems, clinics, and the broader community. In the future, the authors hope to see more students collaborating with experienced preceptors to design ambulatory practice protocols and services across various fields of expertise.

Objective

The purpose of this analysis was to identify, analyze, and report patterns (or themes) of planning and preparation considerations of students that scored less than the historic average score on the Pre-NAPLEX® exam.

Methods

This qualitative study was a retrospective, inductive thematic analysis of de-identified semi-structured interview field notes collected from student interviews for those students that scored less than the historic average score on the Pre-NAPLEX® exam.

Results

Ninety-one students were initially contacted based on their score on the Pre-NAPLEX® exam to participate in one-on-one virtual discussions (i.e., interviews) with faculty members. Fifty-two responded and participated with their responses analyzed and included in thematic categorization. Four major themes were identified during the analysis. These include 1) Organization and Messaging of NAPLEX® Preparation Efforts, 2) Time Management during Competing Obligations, 3) Test Taking Experience, and 4) Curricular Disconnect.

Conclusion

Student performance on the NAPLEX licensing exam is of great concern to many colleges of pharmacy. As a result, many institutions are looking at root-causes for poor performance and working to implement structural changes at their institution to address these concerns. This investigation identified four major themes surrounding the preparation and planning for the Pre-NAPLEX® for students that scored less than the historic average score on the Pre-NAPLEX®. These include 1) Organization and Messaging of NAPLEX® Preparation Efforts, 2) Time Management during Competing Obligations, 3) Test Taking Experience, and 4) Curricular Disconnect. Each of these themes provides potentially actionable items to improve how students prepare and plan for the Pre-NAPLEX®, which may be translatable to informing actions to improve results on the actual NAPLEX exam itself.

Objective

To learn how students in an accredited PharmD program in the United States are using ChatGPT for personal, academic, and clinical reasons, and whether students think ChatGPT training should be incorporated into their program's curriculum.

Methods

In August 2023, an 18-item survey was developed, pilot tested, and sent to all students who were enrolled during the Spring 2023 semester in the entry-level PharmD program at the University of Colorado. E-mail addresses were separated from survey responses to maintain anonymity. Responses were described using descriptive statistics.

Results

206 pharmacy students responded to the survey for a 49% response rate. Nearly one-half (48.5%) indicated they had used ChatGPT for personal reasons; 30.2% had used it for academic reasons; and 7.5% had used it for clinical reasons. The most common personal use for ChatGPT was answering questions and looking-up information (67.0%). The top academic reason for using ChatGPT was summarizing information or a body of text (42.6%), while the top clinical reason was simplifying a complex topic (53.3%). Most respondents (61.8%) indicated they would be interested in learning about how ChatGPT could help them in pharmacy school, and 28.1% thought ChatGPT training should be incorporated into their pharmacy curriculum.

Conclusion

At the time of the survey, ChatGPT was being used by approximately one-half of our pharmacy student respondents for personal, academic, or clinical reasons. Overall, many students indicated they want to learn how to use ChatGPT to help them with their education and think ChatGPT training should be integrated into their curriculum.

Introduction

The circulation of substandard and counterfeit pharmaceutical products on the national and international markets has increased. Different studies revealed that there is limited information about pharmacy professionals' awareness of substandard and counterfeit pharmaceutical products. Therefore; the aim of the present study was to assess the pharmacy professionals' knowledge, attitude, and practice of substandard and counterfeit pharmaceutical products.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacy professionals about substandard and counterfeited pharmaceutical products in Gondar City, North-West Ethiopia. Data were collected through a self-administered, structured questionnaire using the Kobo tool. SPSS version 27 was used for the analysis. To assess the association of factors with pharmacy professionals' practice towards substandard and counterfeit medicines, we conducted univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

A total of 170 respondents participated in the study. The highest numbers of participants (71.8%) were in the age group of 18–30 years. Only 10.6% of them reported purchasing medicines regularly. Of total, 31 (18.24%) of respondents had a good knowledge and more than one-third 60 (35.29%) of the respondents had a good level of practice. Multivariate logistic regression analysis results revealed that some socio-demography and attitude (AOR = 0.473 (0.225–0.995) were associated with the practice of pharmacy professionals towards substandard and counterfeit medicines.

Conclusion

In general, less than one-quarters of the respondents had a good knowledge and more than one-thirds of the respondents had a good level of practice. However, half of the respondents had a positive attitude.

Introduction

Pharmacists need more insight into patients' perspectives on medicine to target their counseling and improve patient outcomes. Patient simulation exercises, where pharmacy students are asked to consume medicine-like products, have been shown to foster such understandings, although the specifics of how this occurs, in particularly, how students turn their first-person perspectives toward generalizations about real patients' lives with medicines, are not well documented.

The aim was to identify central aspects of the learning process by introducing reflection questions about real patients and follow students' development during a study period.

Methods

The study was conducted with students in their 4th semester in the second year of Pharmacy Education at the University of Copenhagen who were asked to respond to free text questions in a survey instrument about their daily experiences of taking a licorice product for one week as well as answering patient reflection questions. Qualitative deductive analysis was performed by coding students' experiences according to concepts of ‘experiential learning’. Pattern identification within each concept was then inferred, as were their interrelationships.

Results

Patient reflection questions enabled students to turn their first-person perspectives toward relevant generalizations about real patients' lives with medicines, including involved psychological mechanisms and how real patient groups differ in their ability to take medicine regularly. Students who during the week faced challenges with following the required dosing scheme came to more nuanced realizations that medicine adherence requires special efforts and restricts one's daily life; hence, negative emotions were involved in the learning process.

Conclusions

The design of the simple patient simulation exercise gave rise to new types of insights into real patients' lives with medicines. Negative emotions due to interference between the requirements of the exercise and students' normal social lives, as well as commitment to the exercise, were important aspects of this process.

Performance assessments for student pharmacists are required by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education to monitor student knowledge, retention, and professional skill sets. Near the end of their Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs), fourth-year pharmacy students (P4s) at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy must pass a milestone exam (P4ME) to graduate. The P4ME contains four sections: adult medicine, ambulatory care, community, and hospital. If a student fails one or more sections of the initial multiple-choice P4ME, they must retake that specific section(s) on the makeup P4ME. If a student fails the makeup multiple-choice P4ME, they participate in a case based oral exam designed to determine whether they meet minimal competencies to pass the P4ME. This report outlines the process undertaken by the faculty to develop a high-stakes P4 milestone oral exam. While only a few students have participated in the process, outcomes differentiated P4s eligible for graduation versus those who needed to repeat an APPE. Lessons learned about the oral exam process include minimizing the number of faculty in attendance, shortening the exam duration, and standardizing the exam process. Positive aspects include remediation led by a subject matter expert and implementation of a unique rubric to assess student performance. Overall, the authors find the P4 oral milestone exam to be a feasible assessment tool for students who perform poorly on the initial and makeup multiple-choice P4MEs.