No abstract

A modern approach to clinical skill education is the use of educational videos, yet there is a shortage of literature investigating the effect of self-instruction videos (SIVs) in pharmacy students. Therefore, our objective was to investigate whether an SIV is non-inferior compared to face-to-face instruction (FTFI) in acquiring blood pressure measurement skills. The participants in this randomized controlled study were pharmacy students. The control group was taught by FTFI, while the intervention group watched an SIV. Before and after the instruction, the participants’ performance was assessed by an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The participants completed a self-assessment survey before each OSCE session. Moreover, the participants’ perception and satisfaction were assessed using another survey. The OSCE score and self-assessment score increased significantly from pre- to post-instruction in both groups. The SIV was non-inferior compared to FTFI in terms of the OSCE score, considering a predefined non-inferiority margin of −10%. The participants’ self-assessment yielded inconclusive results for non-inferiority. Both instructional approaches were well received. Considering our findings, SIVs might be a valuable option for teaching pharmacy students’ blood pressure measurement skills. However, depending on the skill intended to be taught, a combination of an instructional video with instructor-led teaching may be necessary.

Pharmacists’ tasks are multifaceted and include, for example, vital counseling and communication skills. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) could be used to train pharmacy students in these skills. Our study sought to determine the efficacy of our OSCE training approach for training pharmacy students’ counseling and communication skills on diabetes mellitus compared to a control group. This randomized controlled study was conducted with pharmacy students using a pre-post-design. The intervention group completed diabetes OSCE training, while the control group solved diabetes patient cases using subjective, objective, assessment, and plan notes. Before and after the respective training, both groups completed OSCEs evaluating counseling and communication skills. Before each OSCE encounter, the participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire and, upon completion of the seminar, filled out a satisfaction survey. The OSCE-trained group demonstrated a significantly greater increase in counseling and communication skills and self-confidence than the control group. Both groups were generally satisfied with the seminar. These results demonstrate that our OSCE training approach allows for the effective training of pharmacy students’ diabetes counseling and communication skills and suggests the inclusion of such a skill-based approach more widely in pharmacy students’ education.

For reliable blood pressure measurement, various potential sources of inaccuracies need to be considered to avoid incorrect decision-making. Pharmacy students should be sensitized and taught the skill accordingly. One strategy to teach students’ blood pressure measurement skills might be through a blended learning approach in a flipped classroom-like setting. With a randomized two-arm study among pharmacy students in their eighth semester, the required extent of in-class session in the scope of a blended learning approach in a flipped classroom-like setting was evaluated. Participants’ self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency were evaluated through a survey, and participants’ blood pressure measurement performance was assessed by objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Participants’ satisfaction with, and perception of, the flipped classroom were also surveyed. The extended in-class activities did not result in a significantly higher increase of participants’ OSCE score and self-assessment score when compared to the brief in-class session. Both in-class sessions yielded a significant increase in the OSCE scores as well as in the self-assessment scores. Moreover, the teaching approaches were predominantly well-received by the students. The use of both flipped classroom-like approaches improved pharmacy students’ blood pressure measurement performance, though the brief in-class session was sufficient. Students’ self-confidence/self-perceived proficiency in blood pressure measurement skills increased similarly in both settings.

Introduction High blood pressure is an important worldwide health issue. Pharmacists can perform multifaceted tasks in hypertension management such as measuring blood pressure. In a time where the use of educational videos in health professions education has increased, an educational video might be an option for teaching blood pressure measurement skills to pharmacy students. This project aimed to develop an educational video tailored to pharmacy students on oscillometric blood pressure measurement in a community pharmacy setting that can be used as a self-instruction video. Methods The video was created with support from the university’s multimedia center. The video development was roughly divided into pre-production, production, and post-production. Students’ satisfaction with and perception of the video was surveyed. Results An 11-minute 33-second self-instruction video in the German language on proper oscillometric blood pressure measurement tailored for pharmacy students was created. Along with descriptive slides, the video delineates the necessary steps of blood pressure measurement in a community pharmacy setting in a role-play, to support students in communication with the patient. Results of a survey on the satisfaction and perception of the video from thirty-seven pharmacy students were included in the analysis and revealed that the video was well accepted by pharmacy students. Moreover, approximately 95% responded that instructional videos should be included in future pharmacy education. Conclusion We successfully developed an educational video on oscillometric blood pressure measurement for a community pharmacy setting. This work is a valuable form of support for faculty members, who intend to develop educational videos. This might be of interest especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, where distance learning has become highly relevant.

Introduction: Pharmacists play an important role in ensuring the safe, effective, and rational use of drugs in self-medication. Given the potential risks of self-medication, adequate training on self-medication counseling should be provided to pharmacy students during their academic education. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) could be used to train pharmacy students in these skills. This study evaluated the efficacy of an OSCE-based approach for training pharmacy students in self-medication counseling and communication skills. Methods: This randomized controlled study was conducted among pharmacy students using a pre-post design. The intervention group completed OSCE-based self-medication training, while the control group collected counseling-relevant information from summaries of product characteristics of over-the-counter drugs. The counseling and communication skills of both groups before and after training were assessed by completing OSCEs. The participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire on self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency before each OSCE encounter and a satisfaction survey at the end of the seminar. Results: Students were generally satisfied with the seminar. While the OSCE-trained group demonstrated significantly greater increases in counseling skills and self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency than the control group, both groups had similar increases in communication skills. Conclusion: The present study suggests that applying OSCEs as a learning tool for self-medication counseling is beneficial for improving students’ counseling skills as well as self-confidence and self-perceived proficiency. These results support the inclusion of OSCEs in pharmacy education and highlight its potential to bridge gaps between knowledge and practice.

BackgroundIn Germany 37.1% of dispensed medicinal products were intended to use in self-medication in 2017.1 An investigation showed that 25.2% of children and adolescents used self-medication in Germany.2 Hence, pharmacists’ education needs to include training for competence in consultation.3A modern method to train this competence is the use of OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations). The aim of this study was to assess whether the use of OSCEs in pharmacy students to train the consultation performance on self-medication is more effective than a conservative teaching method.MethodsThis randomised controlled investigation was conducted in a pre-post-design with pre-OSCEs before training and post-OSCEs after training in each group. Clinical skills at baseline and after the training were measured. Forty students in their last year of pharmacy studies were randomised into a control and an intervention group. The control group attended a lecture on self-medication and the intervention group had additionally to the lecture one hour of OSCEs for training purpose. An analytical checklist was used for measuring consultation skills and a global rating scale for assessing communication skills.ResultsComplete data was received from 30 students (n=16 intervention group, n=14 control group). Consultation skills improved significantly (analytical checklist: 19.88% ± 10.95% intervention group vs. 9.29% ± 10.89% control group, p< 0.05). However, the communication skills (global rating scale: 20.83% ± 24.33% in the intervention group vs. 11.90% ± 17.12% in the control group, p= 0.380) did not improve significantly during the one-hour training period.ConclusionOSCEs for training purpose are an effective method to convey pharmacy students consultation skills in self-medication. However, communication skills need more training. Based on these results OSCEs on self-medication for the paediatric population should be investigated. This is relevant due to the frequency of self-medication in the paediatric population.ReferencesAbda.de. [Internet]. Berlin: Federal union of German associations of pharmacists. Numbers, data, facts 2016. [Cited January 30, 2019]. Available from: https://www.abda.de/fileadmin/assets/ZDF/ZDF_2018/ABDA_ZDF_2018_Brosch.pdf Du Y, Knopf H. Self-medication among children and adolescents in Germany: results of the National Health Survey for children and adolescents (KiGGS). Br J Clin Pharmacol 2009;68:599–608.Joint Statement by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and the World Self Medication Industry (WSMI). [Internet]. Responsible Self-medication. 1998. [Cited January 30, 2019]. Available from: https://www.fip.org/www/uploads/database_file.php?id=241&table_id=.Disclosure(s)Imaneh Farahani, Anna Laven, Samieh Farahani, Maira A. Deters, Martin Feickert, Fabian K. Suessenbach, Holger Schwender and Stephanie Laeer declare that they have no conflict of interest.