RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Drug interaction management is essential in pharmacy practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate student pharmacists' ability and confidence using drug information databases to investigate a drug-drug interaction previously unencountered in the curriculum. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study was conducted where didactic students were presented with three cases, each containing an interaction. Students were asked to select a drug information resource and determine the mechanism, clinical effects, severity, level of documentation, and course of action for each interaction. Overall performance was assessed on a 15-point scale (one point for each assessment item for each interaction), and students were asked to rate their confidence on a five-point scale for each interaction, yielding a 15-point confidence scale. FINDINGS: For the 187 participants (90.8% response rate) who completed each interaction assessment, overall median performance score was 14 out of 15 possible points (IQR 12-15); 58 (31.0%) earned the maximum score of 15 points. Median confidence score was 13 out of 15 possible points (IQR 12-14). DISCUSSION: This study uniquely assessed students' competency in interactions by focusing on analysis, as opposed to recall of basic facts. Although most students performed well, a significant minority earned an overall performance score of 80% or less, suggesting need for continued practice and improvement. SUMMARY: This cross-section of student pharmacists earned generally high performance scores when assessed on their ability to use a drug information resource to analyze interactions, and were mostly highly confident.
