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Development and Implementation of a Pharmacy Student Medication Order Verification Simulation (1090-004082) (Research Abstract Professor Rounds: Group 2)
Start time: Thursday, January 28, 2021, 10:00 AM End time: Thursday, January 28, 2021, 11:00 AM Session Type: Research Abstracts (Completed Studies) Cost: $0.00
Content Category: Researcher
Hypothesis:
Pharmacy students spend three years of training in a didactic classroom setting before entering advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) under the supervision of licensed pharmacists during the fourth year of pharmacy school. Pharmacy students have limited exposure to an electronic health record (EHR) prior to APPE rotations. Baseline knowledge of navigating an EHR, and the information obtained, is important knowledge for all pharmacy students in order to evaluate a patient’s chart and collect information on which to provide evidence-based care. Therefore, exposure to a hospital based EHR, specifically in a simulated environment, provides students with the ability to practice navigating and collecting health information on which to provide evidence-based, patient-centered care. The purpose of this research was to design and implement a pharmacy medication order verification simulation for fourth year pharmacy students and to assess the impact of simulation on student confidence.
Methods:
Eligible participants in the simulation were students > 18 years old completing their APPE rotation at UAB Hospital between October 2019 and February 2020. The simulations occurred on weeks three and five of each APPE rotation with the simulation case in week five increasing in degree of complexity. Simulated patient electronic health records (EHRs) were built in the training domain of Cerner®, with each participant assigned his or her own patient chart to review and take action on medication orders. The student simulation activity consisted of prebriefing, completion of the simulation case, and debriefing. A Likert scale survey was administered before and after the simulation activity to assess the impact of the simulation on the confidence levels of those who participated.
Results:
We found a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post- simulation surveys on student confidence in using an EHR to detect drug therapy problems and to verify or reject an order in the simulation environment. Other statistically significant survey questions showed an increased interest in institutional pharmacy practice and in incorporating simulation into APPE curriculum to enhance learning. Overall, 89.7% of student participants strongly agreed that the simulation was a worthwhile learning experience.
Conclusions:
Our research demonstrated that incorporating a pharmacy medication order verification simulation increased student confidence in evaluating medication orders and using an EHR. Furthermore, students’ perceptions of institutional pharmacy practice and their confidence to assess and critically evaluate medication orders improved. Our experience with incorporating this simulation into APPE course activity demonstrated value by providing students with an opportunity to practice essential pharmacist duties while practicing in a safe and simulated environment. Furthermore, incorporating this simulated activity into the training of new residents, new pharmacist hires, and creating an interprofessional activity with multiple disciplines alongside pharmacy will give students further simulated experience with working in the healthcare team in a safe environment.