Enhancing Student Knowledge Through a Comprehensive Oncology Simulation

Abstract

To evaluate the impact of a comprehensive oncology simulation on pharmacy students' knowledge and perceptions related to oncology pharmacy practice. Third-year pharmacy students at the University of South Florida completed an ovarian cancer case-based simulation. Stations involved patient-specific order set completion, counseling, order verification, and aseptic technique. Pre- and post-simulation assessments regarding therapeutic knowledge and aseptic technique as well as perceptions of pharmacists' roles in oncology practice were evaluated. All students (n=109, 100%) completed the pre- and post-simulation assessments. There was an increase in knowledge after the simulation, which was statistically significant in three of the six questions. Furthermore, students' perceptions regarding pharmacist roles and self-confidence in ability to prepare patient-specific regimens increased on a 5-point Likert scale from 3.8 and 3.2 to 4.5 and 4.2 on the post-assessment, respectively. Participation in the simulation improved students' oncology-related knowledge and perceived understanding of the roles of oncology pharmacists.

Evaluation of a sepsis teaching rounds simulation for pharmacy students

“…To our knowledge, no previous studies have evaluated the impact of simulated rounds on changes in sepsis knowledge. Although previous studies have indicated that simulation exercises increase knowledge and skills, [9][10][11][12][17][18][19][20] our students did not show a statistically significant change in sepsis knowledge between the didactic lecture and simulation. This finding may be due to significant changes already being observed between the pre-and post-didactic lecture surveys as well as small sample sizes.…”

“…Student teams who had previous simulation training demonstrated increased knowledge and skills over teams without previous training for 75% of ACLS skills observed. In 2018, Serag-Bolos et al 10 evaluated the impact of an oncology simulation on the knowledge and perceptions of 109 pharmacy students using a 5-point Likert scale (5 = strongly agree; 1 = strongly disagree). The authors found an increase in student knowledge as well as improvements in perceptions of roles/responsibilities and self-confidence.…”

A Simulation Activity to Assess Student Pharmacists’ Knowledge and Perceptions of Oncology Pharmacy

“…However, there are few studies evaluating student pharmacists' confidence and perceptions of oncology pharmacy while also assessing knowledge of oncology and oncology pharmacy practice. 6,7 Our study was conducted to explore student pharmacists' confidence in and perceptions of oncology pharmacy before and after completing a four-part interactive activity before the oncology course and a two-hour session in the fourth week of the course. These interventions resulted in significant improvements in scores on several items.…”

“…Students worked in preassigned groups, which reinforced their teamwork and communication skills. 7 Students experienced a more realistic environment simulated to represent different practice settings using a four-station activity. 7 The range of oncology questions asked of the students reflected real scenarios that oncology pharmacists are expected to manage and resolve as the scope of their responsibilities expands.…”

“…The students' perceptions of oncology pharmacists' roles and students' self-confidence in reviewing and dispensing oncolytics also increased significantly. 7 Another study reported on an acute care oncology pharmacy practice experience in a layered learning practice model for APPE students, PGY1 residents, and PGY2 residents to evaluate learner perception of the model and achievement of knowledge-based learning objectives. All posttest scores significantly increased compared to pretest scores, and learners viewed the experience as positive and felt it allowed for improvement in clinical and self-management skills.…”