Second-year Pharmacy Students Research Articles

Improving Self-Perceived Competencies of Second-Year Pharmacy Students Through an Introductory Medication Reconciliation Rotation

ObjectiveMedication reconciliation (MedRec) is an essential health care function that is particularly relevant to pharmacists’ expertise and a learning opportunity for pharmacy students. Our objective was to assess change across clinical competence, confidence, and communication skills after the completion of a MedRec rotation by second-year pharmacy students. MethodsA retrospective post-then-pre-survey including 29 questions was developed/delivered to students after the completion of required MedRec hours. The primary end point was the change in 3 domains via summed scores from individual questions. Cohen’s difference (d) was used to determine group effect size change. The secondary end points included individual question change, perceived patient impact, and subgroup analyses. ResultsOf 115 second-year pharmacy students, 81.7% (n = 94) participated in the study. Students self-reported increases on the Likert scale (0–10) of 2.49 ± 1.90 in clinical competency domain, 3.57 ± 2.13 in confidence domain , and 3.12 ± 2.15 in communication skills domain, representing statistically significant and large group effect changes across all 3. A total of 21 of the 22 individual questions had large group effect changes; 1 question (nursing communications) had a moderate group effect change. Student perception of MedRec impact on patient care (Likert scale 0–10) was positive: post-rotation score 7.39 ± 1.57. ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first larger-scale study that examines student-evaluated outcomes of a MedRec-based rotation. Students self-reported high levels of post-rotation competency across all domains; students from ethnic minorities and with less work/MedRec experience increased their lower pre-rotation scores to statistically similar post-rotation scores, compared with non-minority and more experienced peers. Further study of the model and outcomes is advised.

The effect of different patient-based learning models on student perceptions of empathy, engagement, knowledge, and learning experience

Background Problem-based learning is used widely in pharmacy and medical programmes, incorporating realistic patient scenarios into regular teaching as a way of linking theory to practice. Routine case-based learning lessons ranges from real patient involvement, scripted patient scenarios, digital simulations (avatars) as well as through media such as Zoom. The existing literature has explored the extensive benefits of using patients in clinical education, but fewer studies have directly compared the efficacy of each model as learning tools. Aim To compare student perceptions of patient-based learning models to elicit student empathy, increase engagement, improve knowledge, and enrich learning experience. Methods A questionnaire was distributed to second-year pharmacy students in Swansea University to gather their perceptions on the nine different patient-based learning models in their routine teaching (SUMS RESC 2023-0011). Students were asked to rank their experience of the models explicitly against each other, based on the four pillars of (1) eliciting student empathy, (2) increasing engagement, (3) improving knowledge and (4) enriching the learning experience. Students were also asked to rate the significance of realism (i.e. knowing the patient demographics/having a visual representation of the patient) to their experience. Results Altogether, 31 student rankings of the nine learning models were weighted (9 = highest rank; 1 = lowest ranked). The data showed clear preferences for real-patient involvement over fictional cases, especially for eliciting empathy. Interestingly, scripted scenarios were rated highly for both engagement and learning experience only when avatars were involved, which suggests a role of animated visual representation of the patient in facilitating these outcomes. Conclusion Whilst it is useful to have multiple patient-based learning models, this study serves as a guide for educators in preparing case-based learning sessions for achieving the desired outcomes of any of the four pillars above.

Online teaching and learning of a pharmacy curriculum designed for active learning and professional skills development – A report of students' perceptions and learning experience in two international campuses

Background and purposePharmacy students' perception of the effectiveness of remote online learning experienced during the pandemic, and their learning expectations post-pandemic were unknown. The main purpose of this study was to examine students' perceived effectiveness of online teaching and learning activities developed for active learning and pharmacy professional skills development, and the feasibility of online assessments. Educational activity and settingA cross-sectional online survey involving second-year pharmacy students of Monash Malaysia (MA) and Monash Australia (PA) campuses was conducted. The survey consisted of 15 Likert-scale multiple-choice questions and an open-ended question. Data were analysed statistically. FindingsStudents at both MA and PA campuses were satisfied with the remote online learning experienced during the pandemic but indicated a preference for a blended learning approach. Students at the MA campus felt that on-campus face-to-face classes were more engaging and advantageous for their learning and skills development (P < .05), and on-campus assessments allowed them to engage and perform better (P < .05) compared with students at the PA campus who felt neutral or disagreed. Both student cohorts were happy with some of the lectures being conducted online synchronously or asynchronously. SummaryDifferences in cultures, and learning behaviour and preference may influence learners' perceptions and expectations of online learning. This study suggests that blended learning involving both online and face-to-face interactive activities may promote engagement, satisfaction, and outcomes of culturally diverse learner populations post-pandemic.

Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Sleep Health Educational Module for Pharmacy Students

ObjectivePharmacists need sleep health knowledge and management skills to deliver evidence-based treatments to patients with sleep disorders/disturbances. This study aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a pedagogically informed, interactive sleep health educational module for pharmacy students. MethodsAn educational module utilizing a flipped classroom approach, with an interactive lecture, student self-reflection of sleep patterns, case discussions, and pharmacist-patient role-play scenarios, was designed and implemented. A questionnaire assessing pre/post-module changes in knowledge about and attitudes toward sleep health as well as post-module learning satisfaction, was administered to all participating second-year pharmacy students at an Australian university. ResultsMean total knowledge scores for participating students (n = 125, 70.4% female) improved significantly, from a baseline of 11.1 ± 3.8 to 17.1 ± 3.5 post-module (range: 0–25). Attitudes toward sleep health were moderately high at baseline (28.8 ± 3.2) and improved marginally post-module (29.4 ± 3.8) (range: 10–50); however, this increase was insignificant. Participants expressed high satisfaction with the module through subjective feedback, and post-module reflective statements indicated plans for changing sleep behaviors. ConclusionThe results of this study have shown that a targeted educational module for pharmacy students improved sleep health knowledge. It appeared that positive attitudes toward sleep health were not significantly increased which may reflect a ceiling effect. Future modules should focus on attitudinal aspects of positive sleep health to enhance pharmacists’ skills in providing clinically related sleep health care to patients with sleep disturbance.

Perception of Undergraduate Pharmacy Students on CBL Learning Environment

Introduction: An effective learning environment is important for proper academic and professional development of students. This can be assessed by exploring the students’ perception of the learning environment. This study aims to evaluate students’ learning responses and perceptions of their learning environment regarding case-based learning (CBL) implementation in the subject of pharmacology of second-year undergraduate pharmacy students. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample size is 120 second year students from the Pharmacy programme. The data was collected by using self- administered Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory that consists of 50 items with 5 subscales of learning. Results: A total of 148 second-year pharmacy students participated in the survey and the response rate is 85%. The majority of participants were female and the overall mean DREEM score in this study is 137.29, which indicates more positive learning environment than negative. Three items were identified as areas of concern which were an overemphasis on factual learning (mean=1.64), tutors being perceived as authoritarian (mean=1.97) and the presence of a cheating problem in the course (mean=1.86). In this study, no statistically significant association was found between each subscale of the perceptions of the learning environment and cumulative grade point average (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: Pharmacy students at UiTM Puncak Alam generally hold predominantly positive perceptions. However, there are identified problem areas that require improvement, emphasizing the need for more effective interventions.

Engaging early experiential learners to improve quality at a VA medical center - a cross-sectional analysis.

An innovative population health-based introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) leveraging a Veterans Affairs (VA) and college of pharmacy collaboration was implemented in fall 2019. All second-year pharmacy students from the college actively engage in the evaluation of the medical records of veterans identified using population health management tools as needing additional care or experiencing a gap in care. This study examines the clinical impact of the experience on the care of patients at the partnering VA medical center. Course and patient records were reviewed to enumerate the number and types of interventions performed as part of the IPPE from fall 2019 to spring 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to report clinical impact. Where relevant, t test analysis was used to compare pre- and postintervention clinical values. A total of 1,794 medical records were reviewed. An average of 2.67 interventions were completed for each of the 615 veterans receiving an intervention. A total of 155 patients were identified as needing routine laboratory tests (eg, glycated hemoglobin), with 48.4% of patients receiving recommended laboratory tests within 3 months. Thirty-three veterans were eligible for prescription renewals, resulting in 43 medication orders. Thirty-six veterans were recommended to take a statin medication, and statin therapy was initiated in 11, resulting in a significant decrease in the mean (SD) low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (-42.4 [30.3] mg/dL, P < 0.05). Eight hundred immunizations were recommended for 632 veterans, and 286 recommendations were verbally accepted. This study demonstrates that a population health-based IPPE can provide significant clinical support to the care of patients within the VA health system.

Evaluation of a Patient Education Game Design Activity.

Game-based learning has been used in pharmacy education settings with the instructor developing a game for students to play to enhance learning. However, there is a paucity of data about health sciences students designing a game themselves to further their understanding of a complex topic. The purpose of this study was to describe and assess a game design activity focused on patient education of anticoagulants in a pharmacotherapy skills laboratory setting. Second-year pharmacy students enrolled in a pharmacotherapy skills laboratory course worked in teams in a one-hour active learning activity to design a game intended to educate patients about their medication. A pre/post analysis of student attitudes about game-based learning and the activity, as well as knowledge, was conducted. The large majority of students (80.5%) agreed that the activity was an effective way to develop patient education strategies. Through the survey and free-response questions, students reported that the game design activity facilitated positive group collaboration and allowed students to take the perspective of their patients. Students also requested additional time to complete the activity. Knowledge assessment scores of key patient education points increased from 66.5% prior to the activity to 71.5% one week following the activity (p<0.05). The game design activity served as a novel teaching method for pharmacy students to actively learn about anticoagulant medications while developing an innovative patient education strategy. Although there was an increase in knowledge scores, students highlighted the impact on group collaboration and taking the perspective of their patients.

Pharmacy students' perceptions of clinical reasoning development through a foundational thinking application framework

Background and purposePharmacy students must learn to integrate the foundational and clinical sciences to make therapeutic decisions. There is a need for a developmental framework and scaffolding tools to bridge foundational knowledge with clinical reasoning among novice learners in pharmacy education. Our purpose is to describe the development and student perceptions of a framework designed to integrate foundational knowledge and clinical reasoning in second-year pharmacy students. Educational activity and settingUsing script theory as a conceptual model, a Foundational Thinking Application Framework (FTAF) was designed around a four-credit Pharmacotherapy of Nervous Systems Disorders course at the beginning of the second year of the doctor of pharmacy curriculum. The framework was implemented as two structured learning guides known as a unit plan and a pharmacologically based therapeutic evaluation. A total of 71 students in the course were asked to complete a 15-question online survey assessing perceptions towards specific components of the FTAF. FindingsOf 39 survey respondents, 37 (95%) described the unit plan as a useful organizer for the course. Thirty-five (80%) students agreed or strongly agreed that the unit plan helped organize instructional material for a given topic. Students (n = 32, 82%) preferred the pharmacologically based therapeutic evaluation format, with text comments highlighting that it provided good practice for clinical experiences and helped to organize critical thinking. SummaryOur study found that students had positive perceptions of FTAF's implementation within a pharmacotherapy course. Pharmacy education can benefit by adapting script-based strategies that have been successful in other health professions.

Impact of a Neuropsychiatric Therapeutics Course and a Case-Based Course on Pharmacy Students’ Mental Health Stigma

ObjectiveMental health education can reduce the stigma held by medical and nursing students; however, findings in this regard are limited in pharmacy academia. This study investigated the impact of a neuropsychiatric therapeutics course followed by a case-based course on the mental health stigma held by pharmacy students. MethodsA survey was conducted of second-year pharmacy students (n = 202) on the first and last day of a neuropsychiatric therapeutics course and 4 months later, at the end of a case-based course. The questionnaires included the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for HealthCare Providers (OMS-HC) scale, Recovery scale, Empowerment scale, and Attribution Questionnaire (AQ-9). Omnibus Friedman tests evaluated the main effect of time, followed by Wilcoxon signed-rank post hoc tests to compare baseline and postcourse scores. ResultsFriedman test outcomes showed significant main effects of Time for OMS-HC, Recovery, Empowerment, and AQ-9 scales. Post hoc analysis indicated that compared to the baseline scores, the scores on Recovery and Empowerment scales significantly increased, OMS-HC scores decreased, but AQ-9 scores did not change after the therapeutics course. Compared to the baseline, OMS-HC and AQ-9 scores decreased, Recovery scale score increased, but the Empowerment scale score did not change after the case-based course. The scores did not decrease further after the case-based course compared to those after the therapeutics course. ConclusionThe decreases in OMS-HC and AQ-9 scores and increases in Recovery and Empowerment scores indicate reductions in mental health stigma. Stigma among students was overall reduced after the therapeutics course and this reduction was maintained after the case-based course.

Student knowledge, confidence, and perceptions prior to and following an inhaler and tobacco cessation simulation

Background and purposeTo assess knowledge, perceptions, and confidence of second-year pharmacy students regarding implementation of an innovative inhaler and tobacco cessation simulation. Educational activity and settingA simulation was created that required students to counsel a standardized patient concomitantly on an inhaler prescription and tobacco cessation. To assess the primary outcome of student perceptions and confidence, a survey was administered pre- and post-simulation. Survey results were compared using chi-square analysis. To assess the secondary outcome of knowledge-based improvement, students were assessed on tobacco cessation content utilizing six consistent examination questions; students also completed a tobacco cessation objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) case, with comparison to the previous student cohort. FindingsFifty-seven students (93%) completed the pre-survey, and 49 students (80%) completed the post-survey. Improvements in confidence concerning use of motivational interviewing and ability to establish a quit date via motivational interviewing were found. Examination score comparisons revealed improvements in two of the six questions but were not statistically significant. Tobacco cessation OSCE data indicated an improvement in overall student score (72%) compared to the control group (69%). A larger proportion of students achieved the tobacco cessation case cut score (97% vs. 87%). Lastly, intervention vs. control group averages improved in gathering patient information (57% vs. 45%) and developing management strategies (71% vs. 65%). SummaryThis integrated simulation was an effective learning tool that reinforced tobacco cessation concepts and increased confidence and knowledge. Simulations that require students to integrate knowledge and skills are valuable additions to pharmacy curricula.

In-Person or Online? Exploring Student Pharmacists’ Perceived Change in Interprofessional Skills between Two Delivery Formats

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed how education is delivered. Many academic programs quickly transformed their curriculum to online distance learning. This rapid transition may have compromised the rigor and fidelity of these activities. The Interprofessional Standardized Patient Experience (ISPE) is an interprofessional education activity (IPE) involving a team of students from six different healthcare professions that switched to an online delivery format. This manuscript compares pharmacy students' perceived change in interprofessional skills between the two formats. Following the ISPE, second-year pharmacy students completed the revised Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS-R). The ICCAS-R assesses the change in interprofessional collaboration-related competencies in healthcare students before and after IPE training using a retrospective pre-post approach. For each ICCAS-R item and each delivery format (44 in-person and 51 online), paired Student's t-test on pre- and post-ISPE scores, and Cohen's d were calculated. Every item of the ICCAS-R was significant (p < 0.001), regardless of delivery format. Nearly all ICCAS-R items had a large effect size, and the remaining items had a medium effect size. The amount of change pre- and post-ISPE for each ICCAS-R item was calculated. Student's t-test was used to compare the magnitude of change in interprofessional skills between the two delivery formats. Only one difference was noted between the two delivery formats-ICCAS-R item 16, which measured actively listening to interprofessional team members (p = 0.0321). When switching to an online format, the high-fidelity dimension of the ISPE was retained. The ISPE is an effective IPE activity at increasing pharmacy students' self-perceived interprofessional collaboration skills regardless of delivery format. Even though students reported the ISPE increased their ability to actively listen to the perspectives of interprofessional team members in both formats, the magnitude of the benefit was more profound in the in-person group.

Pharmacy Student Perceptions and Knowledge of Online Pharmacy Use

Objective. Currently, there is no set of accreditation standards for integrating the dangers of illegal online pharmacies into Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curricula. As a result, many pharmacists are unable to recognize the differences between a legal and illegal online pharmacy or educate patients on the dangers of online pharmacies. The objectives of this study were to assess gaps in student pharmacists' knowledge and to assess the impact of adding education regarding online pharmacies into PharmD programs.Methods. A pre- and postsurvey design was developed. Data were collected through an electronic questionnaire distributed to second-year pharmacy (P2) students to evaluate student knowledge gaps at baseline and after education on illegal online pharmacies.Results. A total of 102 students responded to the presurvey, with 93 (91%) consenting to participate. Out of 100 respondents to the postsurvey, 84 (84%) students consented. Approximately 87% (81/93) of respondents indicated some awareness of prescription medications being purchased online. Most students (89%, 77/86) stated that they do not believe the university has provided adequate curriculum on illegal online pharmacies and counterfeit medications. After receiving education on the relevant topics, 64% (55/85) stated they now felt their education was adequate.Conclusion. Although pharmacy students were aware of the existence of illegal online pharmacies, they were not aware of the significance of this patient safety issue or how to accurately identify suspicious websites. It is imperative that PharmD programs incorporate formal education on the risks that illegal online pharmacies pose to patient and medication safety.

Enabling Access to Pharmacy Law Teaching during COVID-19: Student Perceptions of MyDispense and Assessment Outcomes

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not always possible to teach pharmacy practice and practical dispensing skills in person. Second-year pharmacy students (n = 147) were given access to a virtual simulation tool, MyDispense, to supplement their learning. This software enabled students to work remotely and access exercises in a 'safe' community pharmacy setting. This study evaluated second-year pharmacy students' perceptions of MyDispense, and the impact on assessment performance in the pharmacy law and ethics module. Students were able to access 22 MyDispense activities throughout the academic year (2020/2021). Exercise completion rates and assessment marks were analysed, along with findings from a cross-sectional survey about user experience. MyDispense data were available for all students (n = 147), and 76.1% (n = 115) completed the survey. The mean number of MyDispense exercises completed was nine. Higher levels of MyDispense exercise completion were associated with higher pass rates and mean scores (no exercises completed versus 1-10 activities completed: mean score 77.1 versus 83.1, respectively) and a statistically significant association between exercise usage and in-class assessed prescription scores. Overall, 46.1% (n = 53/115), 33.0% (n = 38/115) and 33.9% (n = 39/115) of students felt that MyDispense had helped them to prepare for their assessed prescriptions, mid-module test, and final exam, respectively. MyDispense has provided an accessible alternative to in-person teaching for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and results showed a positive association with assessment performance in pharmacy law and ethics.

Dental Bite-Sized Bits: A Module for Teaching Common Oral Health Conditions to Multidisciplinary Students.

The Surgeon General's report in the year 2000 highlighted the association between chronic diseases and oral health infections. Current healthcare education programs, regrettably, report only 1 to 3h of oral health instruction within curricula. In the years 2020-2022, as part of their respective oral health curricula, 278 first-year physician assistant and 12 pre-clinical second-year pharmacy students were invited to participate in a voluntary survey examining the effectiveness of animated succinct, online video-based oral health units. Among all student responses for the post-use survey, respondents "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that learning objectives of the unit(s) were achieved after reviewing the videos. Of the participants, 97% "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that the videos helped them understand information of which they had no prior knowledge. Similarly, 98% "strongly agreed" or "agreed" the information was appropriate for their level of knowledge. Most students, 93%, "strongly agreed" or "agreed" the exercise was a valuable learning experience. Regarding the importance of future interprofessional collaboration pertaining to a mutual patient's oral health, 95% of participants "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that they would be likely to collaborate. This study demonstrates the importance of oral health as a critical area of focus in healthcare education. The study also confirms the hypothesis that Dental Bite-Sized Bits units deliver engaging, valuable oral health education for preclinical healthcare learners, incorporating interprofessional perspectives from the disciplines of dental, pharmacy, and physician assistant.

An exploratory qualitative study of pharmacy student perspectives of implicit bias in pharmacy practice

IntroductionImplicit biases can contribute to unfair treatment in healthcare and exacerbate healthcare disparities. Little is known about the implicit biases that exist within pharmacy practice and their behavioral manifestations. The purpose of this study was to explore pharmacy student perspectives about implicit bias in pharmacy practice. MethodsSixty-two second-year pharmacy students attended a lecture on implicit bias in healthcare and engaged in an assignment designed to explore their thoughts about how implicit bias manifests or may manifest within pharmacy practice. Students' qualitative responses were content analyzed. ResultsStudents reported several examples in which implicit bias may emerge in pharmacy practice. Various forms of potential bias were identified including bias associated with patients' race, ethnicity, and culture, insurance/financial status, weight, age, religion, physical appearance and language, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and gender identity, and prescriptions filled. Students identified several potential implications of implicit bias in pharmacy practice including unwelcoming non-verbal behavior on the part of providers, differences in time devoted to interacting with patients, differences in empathy and respect, inadequate counseling, and (un)willingness to provide services. Students also identified factors that could precipitate biased behaviors such as fatigue, stress, burnout, and multiple demands. ConclusionsPharmacy students believed that implicit biases manifested in many different ways and were potentially associated with behaviors that resulted in unequal treatment in pharmacy practice. Future studies should explore the effectiveness of implicit bias trainings on reducing the behavioral implications of bias in pharmacy practice.

Interprofessional virtual simulation to promote leadership and patient advocacy skills in pharmacy and nursing students

This curricular resource describes an educational opportunity to develop leadership and patient advocacy skills between pharmacy and nursing students through a virtual interprofessional simulation. This format selected was a virtual simulation as it is an increasingly popular teaching tool during the current health climate and can be applied to teach the interprofessional skills of leadership, patient advocacy, understanding the role of other professions, and interprofessional communication. The activity's objective was to increase student self-perception in confidence of leadership ability, patient advocacy skills, understanding the role of other professions, and interprofessional communication skills through an interprofessional leadership and patient advocacy focused simulation activity. To measure these four items, students self-rated their confidence level in these items in a pre- and post-survey. Thirty-six second-year pharmacy students and thirty-seven senior nursing students participated in the experience and completed both the pre and post surveys. Student self-rating increased in all four items. Additionally, all post survey respondents remarked that they would recommend this experience to future students. Participation in an interprofessional virtual simulation between pharmacy and nursing students focused on leadership development and patient advocacy demonstrated a statistically significant increase in students' confidence in their ability of leadership, patient advocacy skills, understanding the other profession's role, and interprofessional communication. The experience provides an engaging and effective method to teach students these vital skills within an interprofessional team.

Effectiveness of an Advanced Naloxone Training, Simulation, and Assessment of Second-Year Pharmacy Students.

Background: Opioid overdoses continue to be one of the most urgent public health priorities. In 2020, reported overdose deaths in the United States reached a high of over 93,000 cases. As the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid crisis continues to be addressed, life-saving agents must be more widely accessible to those with a high overdose risk. An essential step to increasing access is to train student pharmacists to dispense naloxone. Once licensed, the number of personnel authorized to dispense naloxone can increase. Objectives: To design a training program to educate second-year pharmacy (P2) students on furnishing naloxone under a state protocol. Methods: A multi-phased curriculum-based naloxone training program was delivered to P2 students and included lecture-based education, team-based learning (TBL) applications, case-based scenarios, and summative assessments to improve student knowledge and confidence in furnishing naloxone. Students were surveyed on their knowledge and confidence with naloxone prior to training, after the in-class training and TBL applications and after three assessments. Assessments included simulated patient counseling, case-based scenarios, and proper dispensing of naloxone in a community pharmacy simulation lab. Results: A total of 185 student pharmacists completed the naloxone training program and 68 completed all three surveys. Average scores for naloxone assessments were 83% for the APPS lab patient case, 90.5% for the prescription label typed for the naloxone product, and 88.5% for patient counseling. Statistically significant increases in knowledge-based quiz-like scores (42.1% after training vs. 7.2% after assessment) and in the proportion of students affirmatively answering survey questions after training and assessment was observed. Conclusion: Multi-phase curriculum-based naloxone training program improved pharmacy student knowledge and confidence in furnishing naloxone under a state BOP protocol.

P016 Evaluating the effectiveness of an interactive educational intervention on sleep health for second-year pharmacy students

Abstract Background Pharmacists are usually the most frequently consulted professionals in primary care for health concerns, such as sleep disturbances. However, conventionally, curricular space devoted to sleep health has been insufficient and this eventuates in suboptimal care provision. For example, pharmacists often provide over the counter/complementary medicines rather than the recommended behavioural counselling for insomnia management. Clearly, pedagogically informed learning experiences about sleep health/insomnia management are important to improve practice. Objectives To develop, implement and evaluate an interactive sleep health educational intervention for 2nd year pharmacy students. Methods An educational intervention utilising a flipped classroom approach, with interactive lectures, self-reflection around personal sleep habits, and role-playing behavioural treatment provision was designed and implemented. A questionnaire assessing pre- and post-intervention changes in knowledge about and attitudes towards sleep as well as post-intervention learning satisfaction, was administered to students. Results Mean total knowledge scores for participating students (n=125, 70.4% females) improved significantly post-intervention from a baseline of 11.1 ± 3.8 to 17.1 ± 3.5 post-intervention, p &amp;lt;0.05 (Score range= 0-25). The mean total attitudes scores also improved from 28.8 ± 3.2 at baseline to 29.4 ± 3.8 (Score range= 10-50), p=0.07; however, this change was insignificant. Conclusion Carefully crafted educational interventions for pharmacy students can help improve sleep health knowledge. Whilst a trend to improved sleep health attitudes was evident, it was not significant, possibly because of positive sleep health attitudes even at baseline. Such programs should be incorporated into pharmacy pre-registration curricula to potentially enhance future pharmacists’ skills in sleep health provision.

A small-group activity to enhance learning of cardiovascular drugs for health science students.

This small‐group activity provides two cases in cardiovascular pharmacology to engage students in a medical or other health professions curriculum. The goal of this activity is to apply students' basic knowledge of physiology and pharmacology to clinical case scenarios. Students were provided with the cases 1 week in advance and were encouraged to use their lecture notes and/or other references of their choosing to answer as many of the questions as possible and prepare to discuss the answers with their classmates at the session. Facilitators were provided with detailed notes and a video that explain the answers and provide suggestions for engaging and challenging the students. For the 2021 academic year, 201 students (139 first‐year medical students and 62 second‐year pharmacy students) at UC San Diego participated in the small‐group activity. Eighteen facilitators were recruited to lead this 110‐min session. Students' performance was assessed on the final exam of their integrated cardiovascular physiology‐pharmacology course. Students achieved 84% (SD 17.54) on questions related to the small‐group session compared to 78% (SD 15.60) on other cardiovascular pharmacology questions not related to the activity. Student perceptions of the facilitators leading the small‐group activity were very positive (average of 4.7 on a 5‐point Likert Scale). Using this approach, we demonstrate that a small‐group activity with clinical scenarios helps students master the pharmacology content related to cardiovascular drugs. The small‐group activity included constructed response questions to foster conceptual understanding.

Learning Outcomes in a Live Virtual versus In-Person Curriculum for Medical and Pharmacy Students.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been a source of disruption, changing the face of medical education. In response to infection control measures at the University of California, San Diego, the hybrid in-person and recorded preclerkship curriculum was converted to a completely virtual format. The impact of this exclusive virtual teaching platform on the quality of trainee education is unknown.ObjectiveTo determine the efficacy of a virtual course, relative to traditional hybrid in-person and recorded teaching, and to assess the impact of supplementary educational material on knowledge acquisition.MethodsA retrospective observational cohort study was performed to assess an introductory course, held mostly in person in 2019 versus completely virtual in 2020, for first-year medical students and second-year pharmacy students at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.ResultsThe midterm and final examination scores were similar for the hybrid and virtual courses. There was no association between the hours of recorded lectures watched and final examination scores for either course. In the 2019 in-person and recorded course, students who demonstrated consistent on-time use of practice quizzes scored statistically higher on the final examination (P = 0.0066). In the 2020 virtual course, students who downloaded quizzes regularly had statistically higher scores on the midterm examination (P < 0.0001).ConclusionThe similar examination scores for the hybrid in-person and recorded and exclusively virtual courses suggest that the short-term knowledge acquired was equivalent, independent of the modality with which the content was delivered. Consistent on-time use of practice quizzes was associated with higher examination scores. Future studies are needed to assess the difference between a completely in-person versus virtual curriculum.