Telepharmacy versus Face-to-Face Approach in Providing Inhaler Technique Training Service: A Non-Inferiority Assessment Among German Pharmacy Students.

Background: The use of telepharmacy in delivering pharmaceutical care services has grown in the past few years; however, there are perceptions of its inappropriateness for providing medical device training among pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to determine if the telepharmacy approach for providing inhaler technique training service was non-inferior to the face-to-face approach regarding pharmacy students' performance in simulated patient encounters. Secondary objectives were to determine students' self-assessment of their ability to demonstrate and practice inhaler technique between the two modes of communication and their perceptions of telepharmacy. Methods: A randomized crossover non-inferiority trial was conducted among undergraduate pharmacy students. Outcomes were measured by comparing Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores of participants' performance between two modes of communication while providing inhaler technique training service. Moreover, the participants also completed self-assessment and perception questionnaires. Results: The telepharmacy approach was non-inferior to the face-to-face approach for demonstrating and practicing the correct inhaler technique based on OSCE scores and a predefined non-inferiority margin of -10%. The results also revealed no significant differences in student self-confidence between the two modes of communication. Moreover, participants had a largely positive perception of telepharmacy and its use in providing inhaler technique training service. Conclusion: Considering our findings, telepharmacy is a viable alternative to traditional face-to-face consultations for providing inhaler technique training service. However, to address perceived difficulties and differences between virtual and face-to-face consultations, the pharmacy curriculum should include more telepharmacy-related didactic content with experiential learning and simulations.

Development and Evaluation of Interprofessional High-Fidelity Simulation Course on Medication Therapy Consultation for German Pharmacy and Medical Students-A Randomized Controlled Study.

Recently, there has been a remarkable move towards interprofessional collaboration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the care of comorbidities. In Germany, there has been a gradual increase in interprofessional learning in medical and pharmacy education, aiming to enhance patient care. To adapt the pharmacy curriculum for collaborative practice between pharmacy and medical students, we developed an immersive interprofessional collaboration course for pharmacy students using adult and pediatric high-fidelity simulators (HFS) to assess and train medication consultation skills. In a randomized controlled trial, we investigated whether interprofessional training between pharmacy and medical students results in differences in pharmacy students' performance of medication therapy consultation compared to the case of mono-professional training of pharmacy students only. Before and after inter/mono-professional training, each pharmacy student performed an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and completed a self-assessment questionnaire. Additionally, an attitude survey towards interprofessional learning was completed by pharmacy and medical students at the end of the training. As expected, interprofessional as well as mono-professional training showed a statistically significant increase in medication consultation skills. Of importance, the performance in the interprofessional training group was significantly better than in the mono-professional group, particularly in drug therapy counselling and consultation behaviors. There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in self-assessment scores, and all study participants had positive attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration and training. Therefore, interprofessional training using HFS has been shown to appropriately train pharmacy students for collaborative practice and consultation skills.

Vaccination Training for Pharmacy Undergraduates as a Compulsory Part of the Curriculum?-A Multicentric Observation.

In order to increase vaccination rates, the Government of Germany introduced vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 into the regular care administered by pharmacists. However, vaccination training is yet not integrated into the German pharmacy curriculum. Therefore, the Institute for Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapy in Duesseldorf had developed an innovative vaccination course using high-fidelity simulation for students. To investigate the acceptance further, the course was carried out at three different German universities (Bonn, Duesseldorf, Greifswald). Students were asked to give their self-assessment before and after and satisfaction only after the training course. Responses from 33 participants from the University of Bonn, 42 from the University of Duesseldorf and 49 from the University of Greifswald were analyzed. Every participant at the respective universities showed a significant increase in their self-assessment and indicated a high level of satisfaction with the course. The results also did not differ significantly between the respective universities. Consequently, the results lead to the hypothesis that the satisfaction of pharmacy students with this kind of training using high-fidelity simulation is very high and attractive, and can be recommended for other German universities. The integration of such vaccination training into the German pharmacy curriculum might be a future step.

Development and Assessment of Innovative High-Fidelity Simulation Vaccination Course Integrating Emergency Cases for Pharmacy Undergraduates-A Randomized Controlled Study.

Recently, pharmacists in Germany were allowed to administer influenza and COVID-19 vaccines for people aged 12 years and older in order to increase vaccination coverage rates. In order to adapt the pharmacy curriculum for clinical practice, an innovative, vaccination training course using a high-fidelity simulator (HFS) was developed, implementing clinical scenarios to manage adverse events. In a randomized controlled trial using a pre and post design with pharmacy undergraduates, the intervention group interacted with an HFS, while the control group was trained with low-fidelity injection pads. Before and after the respective training, each participant went through an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and completed a self-assessment questionnaire and knowledge quiz. Both training methods showed a significant increase in skills, but there was also a significant greater increase in the intervention group when compared to the control group, particularly with respect to the vaccination process. Furthermore, every individual in the intervention group improved from the pre- to post-training OSCEs. Therefore, HFS has been proven to be an appropriate tool to train pharmacy students for the purposes of vaccine administration and to prepare for future challenges. Particularly, recognizing and managing adverse reactions can be addressed in a very effective way.