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.

A comparison of in-person vs. asynchronous learning with self-care patient cases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a live laboratory setting compared to an asynchronous session in a crossover teaching design on knowledge and confidence in self-care review topics. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Pharmacy students (n = 88) participated in a crossover designed laboratory session where they either attended a live, active-learning laboratory session on self-care review topics, followed by a virtual, asynchronous self-care simulation or vice versa. Sessions were held one week apart. Pre- and post-assessments were administered that contained knowledge and confidence questions as well as student perceptions on the teaching modalities. FINDINGS: Of the 88 students who participated in the study, 67 (76.1%) were included in the study findings. Post-assessment knowledge and confidence significantly increased after both the live, active-learning session and the asynchronous simulation. The majority of students (85%) indicated that they preferred the in-person activity. SUMMARY: Students preferred the live, active-learning laboratory for reviewing self-care concepts. However, knowledge and confidence improved using either teaching modality, therefore, in institutions where resources are limited, the virtual, asynchronous activity may be useful especially if facilitators and/or budget are limited.