Use of an instant messaging application to facilitate pharmacy students’ learning during medical rounds

Abstract

Pharmacy students on advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations typically participate on rounds with inpatient medical teams, where they are relied upon to make recommendations regarding patient-specific medication therapy under the supervision of a pharmacist preceptor. Students often have to perform extensive research and discuss each recommendation with a preceptor before presenting the recommendation to the health care team. This learning process is essential for the student to develop crucial drug information and clinical pharmacy skills. The widely available Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R21 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA) or the newer version, known as Lync,2 could be used to facilitate pharmacy students’ learning and allow for quicker recommendations on pharmacotherapy to improve patient care. Office Communicator or Lync is an instant messaging application and is currently available at all Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. Its features can be used across all disciplines and members of the health care team. To our knowledge, the use of instant messaging to assist with precepting pharmacy students has not previously been reported in the literature.