Confidence Level in Pharmaceutical Care Skills and Experiences Using MyDispense Virtual Simulation Among Pharmacy Students in The Philippines

Abstract

MyDispense®, developed by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University, aims to provide accessible learning and drug dispensing practice to students. Virtual simulation has become a widely used technology, especially while the educational sector is slowly recovering from the pandemic. This study aims to determine the confidence level in pharmaceutical care skills and experiences using MyDispense® on prescription handling and patient counseling. This research utilized Quali-Quanti Sequential Exploratory mixed methods among pharmacy students in the Philippines enrolled in a MyDispense® curriculum. A total of 324 students completed the two-part survey analyzed with frequency, percentage, and a chi-square test. Eight students located in different parts of the Philippines participated in the interview, which was analyzed using thematic analysis to determine the advantages, barriers, challenges, and recommendations. The results showed that the respondents mainly were third-year students (40.4%), completed 10 and above MyDispense® cases (49.7%), resided in region XI (48.8%), and utilized laptops in accessing the virtual simulation (67.9%). A high level of confidence in pharmaceutical care skills was expressed in the mean values of prescription handling skills (4.31) and patient counseling skills (4.31) revealing that MyDispense® is an essential pharmacy simulation tool. The qualitative results showed that MyDispense® provided experiential learning beneficial for work-based education. It gave the students confidence in their prescription handling skills by activating their critical thinking through delivering patient-centered care in a timely manner. For patient counseling skills, it enhanced the students' own communication style in written form which gave them confidence in interacting with virtual patients. Students encountered various challenges, such as technical and language barriers, which led to the suggestion of a customizable dispensing system. Thus, MyDispense® is a viable platform for practicing pharmaceutical care that provides meaningful features for the growth of students as confident future pharmacists.