Patient Simulation Software to Augment an Advanced Pharmaceutics Course

• Published in: American journal of pharmaceutical education Vol. 75; no. 2; p. 21
• Main Authors: Benedict, Neal, Schonder, Kristine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 10.03.2011; American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• Subjects: active learning; clinical decision making; Computer programs; Computer Simulation; Computer software industry; critical thinking; Curriculum; Decision Making; Decision Support Techniques; Drugstores; Education, Pharmacy - methods; Educational Measurement; Engineering; Humans; Instructional Design and Assessment; Internet software; simulation; Software; Students, Pharmacy; Surveys; Synthetic training devices; virtual patients; United States; clinical decision making; active learning; critical thinking; virtual patients; simulation
• ISSN: 0002-9459; 1553-6467
• DOI: 10.5688/ajpe75221

Objective. To implement and assess the effectiveness of adding a pharmaceutical care simulation program to an advanced therapeutics course. Design. PharmaCAL (University of Pittsburgh), a software program that uses a branched-outcome decision making model, was used to create patient simulations to augment lectures given in the course. In each simulation, students were presented with a challenge, given choices, and then provided with consequences specific to their choices. Assessments. A survey was administered at the end of the course and students indicated the simulations were enjoyable (92%), easy to use (90%), stimulated interest in critically ill patients (82%), and allowed for application of lecture material (91%). A 5-item presimulation and postsimulation test on the anemia simulation was administered to assess learning. Students answered significantly more questions correctly on the postsimulation test than on the presimulation test (p < 0.001). Seventy-eight percent of students answered the same 5 questions correctly on the final examination. Conclusion. Patient simulation software that used a branched-outcome decision model was an effective supplement to class lectures in an advanced pharmaceutics course and was well-received by pharmacy students.