e-Learning to facilitate preparation for prescribing skills assessment

Digital Learning to Improve Safe and Effective Prescribing: A Systematic Review

“…The database search yielded 2,110 records, 125 of which were eligible on the basis of title and abstract. Fifty‐nine full‐text articles were eligible for inclusion . Six additional articles were identified from the previously used database, making a total of 65 articles.…”

“…Table shows the characteristics of the digital teaching interventions. Most ( N = 55; 85%) articles described the use of (online) e‐learning, 11(20%) of which described e‐learning combined with traditional classroom teaching, making the intervention blended learning . Eight articles (15%) combined e‐learning with some sort of digital communication channel, such as Web forums or chatrooms for interaction with peers and teachers .…”

“…Nine articles (14%) described more unique learning interventions: gamified e‐learning, a text‐based virtual patient, an augmented reality virtual patient, e‐learning with email case discussions, a wiki‐like student drug formulary, a drug‐dosage simulator, a digital drug repository, and informative podcasts . Fifty‐one percent of interventions were aimed at postgraduate physicians, 25% were aimed at nonmedical prescribers (all of whom were nurses), 20% at medical students, and 11% at pharmacy students . Nine postgraduate courses (14%) were aimed at prescribers from more than one background; one was an undergraduate course (the Australian National Prescribing Curriculum) .…”

“…Ten articles (15%) had a descriptive design, 11 (17%) a qualitative design, and 44 (68%) a quantitative design . Twenty‐six of the quantitative articles (59%) used a randomized or nonrandomized trial design; the remaining 18 articles (41%) either used no control or compared one group before and after the intervention . The nature of the control group was diverse: five articles (11% of quantitative) compared the use of clinical practice guidelines to DLRs, and six (14%) compared traditional face‐to‐face teaching with e‐learning .…”

“…Twenty‐one articles reported the reaction of participants, mostly assessed using 5‐point Likert scales or open questions . All results were positive, but no structural differences between DLRs and traditional teaching methods were identified.…”