COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges and Lessons Learned by Pharmacy Educators Around the Globe

Kawaguchi‐Suzuki, Marina; Nagai, Naomi; Akonoghrere, Rita O; Desborough, James

doi:10.5688/ajpe8197

Cited by 60 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…3,4 Presently, many educational institutions were compelled to use distance learning to synchronize the current COVID-19 situation. [5][6][7][8] When the World Health Organization first announced COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, governments had to use preventive policies to control the spread of the virus and suspended schools and universities attendance for an indefinite time. Higher education, shortly, responded to this huge shift and activated distance education, taking the advantage of existing learning supportive systems such as Blackboard and Moodle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…19,20 In response to the precautionary measures forced by governments to prevent COVID-19, a complete shift to distance learning was used as an alternative strategy to the suspension of students' attendance on campus. 7 Varied levels of responses to the situation were reported. Some countries, for example, carried out off-campus students' research under remote supervision of faculty members.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the capacity for e-learning, underequipped pharmacy schools, and internet access service were major challenges. 7,21,22 Other examples include activation of the asynchronous teaching for pharmacy education shortly to cope and expand learning accessibility; remote delivery of the educational content due to subscriptions to various E-Systems, expert's readiness, the inclusion of active learning in the curriculum, and training instructors to use online platform for teaching such as (Zoom). 7,8,23 In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Education issued a notice, in March 2020, to suspend face-to-face teaching and learning and temporarily close all educational institutions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Distance Education During COVID-19 Pandemic: A College of Pharmacy Experience

Altwaijry¹,

Ibrahim²,

Binsuwaidan³

et al. 2021

RMHP

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This study aimed at describing the experience of academic staff and students with distance education, during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a college of pharmacy in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study used a mixed-method approach. The first phase implemented a survey that targeted both academic staff and students to evaluate their experiences with distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, a focus group discussion was conducted to explore, in-depth, their experience. The survey consisted of five domains as follows: readiness for the shift to distance education during the full and partial lockdown, perception towards distance education, barriers against distance education, and the acquisitions due to distance education. A five-point Likert scale was used to assess participants' responses to the different domains (mean score ± standard deviation). Results: Seventy-eight percent of the academic staff and 65% of the students responded to the survey. Participants' views were positive for readiness for the shift to distance education during the full lockdown (3.89±0.42 for academic staff and 3.82±0.50 for students) with almost similar evaluation for the readiness during the blended learning period (3.91±0.44 for staff and 3.83±0.59 for students). The findings showed a generally positive perception towards distance education (3.59± 0.67 for academic staff and 3.47±0.64 for students). The acquisitions due to distance education were also positive (3.95±0.72 for academic staff and 3.78±0.77 for students). Nonetheless, some barriers that affected distance education were raised with an overall neutral view from both academic staff (3.31±0.72) and students (3.31±0.64), with different responses for the individual items. Qualitative findings from the focus group discussions explored the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, with emphasis on the areas for improvement. Conclusion: Although the shift for distance education was out of a sudden, participants showed overall positive views about their experience with distance education and highlighted areas for improvement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Distance Education During COVID-19 Pandemic: A College of Pharmacy Experience

Altwaijry¹,

Ibrahim²,

Binsuwaidan³

et al. 2021

RMHP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ten of the articles were about pharmacy practice and were not reviewed ( Figure 1 ). Of the remaining 28 [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], most were solely focused on addressing the challenges presented by current events, with only a few describing seizing opportunities that represent the needs of the future. In “Pharmacy Education Crosses the Rubicon”, the authors stated that “the pre-COVID-19 global response of the Academy to [technological] changes around us might have been described as incremental” and “the pandemic has forced us into a state of out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving” [ 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leading a Digital Transformation in Pharmacy Education with a Pandemic as the Accelerant

Mirzaian

Franson

2021

Pharmacy

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The global COVID-19 pandemic has not only posed a challenge to education but created an opportunity to spearhead a digital transformation and the novel delivery of a Pharm.D. curriculum. The process to transform the curriculum in a sustainable and iterative manner involved multiple steps including: (1) Communication, (2) Maintaining faculty engagement, (3) Allowing outside the box thinking, (4) Providing resources and tools and (5) Creating accountability and timelines. At our institution, we have been interested in digital transformation since completing our interview of global leaders. We began our journey using the current COVID-19 pandemic as an accelerant for change. Digital transformation in any industry is not a simple undertaking. However, with planning, aligned organizational interests, consistent and regular communication, provision of resources and tools, engaging faculty and creating accountability and timelines with deliverables the implementation can be successful. When the global pandemic wanes and educational institutions commence in-person classes, having undergone the stages of digital transformation, we will be able to embrace these changes and transform education, not having to reproduce pre-pandemic educational systems.

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“…During this transition, programs have needed to consider many aspects of technology, including (but not limited to) infrastructure, user (e.g., student or staff) training/competency, policies and procedures for appropriate use/professionalism, equity, and evaluation [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Online assessments delivered remotely have also needed to be managed in terms of policies and procedures, academic integrity, student competency with the assessment platform, and modification of assessment tools as needed [ 4 , 5 ]. Many different aspects of technology have been utilized, including live session delivery platforms, use of recordings or online information, online education delivery platforms, simulation through remote online interactions, and virtual experiential training and patient care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing Technology in Pharmacy Education: A Document Analysis of Strategic Plans

et al. 2020

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The COVID-19 pandemic has required many pharmacy programs to increase their utilization of technology or shift the course of delivery entirely online. Delivery in this setting has exposed areas in the use of technology where pharmacy programs need to improve (such as staff and student training). This study performed a document analysis of strategic plans to identify technology-related strategies and where gaps in planning currently exist. Accredited pharmacy programs in Canada and the USA were included for analysis. A total of 77 strategic plans were identified. Strategic plans were searched for the phrases: "tech", "online", "distance" and "e-learning" to identify technology-related statements. Statements relating to technology in education were coded for (1) the prioritized “action” and (2) the objective or “goal” of this strategy. Quantitative analysis of these codes revealed that the “action” was most frequently to introduce or improve technology (54.4%), and the “goal” most frequently related to enhancing teaching/course delivery/learning (34.2%). Strategic plans appeared to frequently focus on the technology itself, with little consideration for the human aspect of operating technology or readiness of programs to embrace technology. Moving forward, strategic priorities with respect to technology should be refocused towards system readiness and account for resources necessary for target user upskilling and acceptance.

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COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges and Lessons Learned by Pharmacy Educators Around the Globe

Cited by 60 publications

References 1 publication

Distance Education During COVID-19 Pandemic: A College of Pharmacy Experience

Distance Education During COVID-19 Pandemic: A College of Pharmacy Experience

Leading a Digital Transformation in Pharmacy Education with a Pandemic as the Accelerant

Prioritizing Technology in Pharmacy Education: A Document Analysis of Strategic Plans

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