Providing an Academic APPE Elective via Videoconference Between Off-campus Faculty and Students

Abstract

Objective. To describe students' experiences and learning outcomes of an academic advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) elective provided via videoconference. Faculty preceptor and experiential administration's perspectives also are described. Methods. This 5-week APPE was developed using backward design and delivered starting in 2015 via videoconferencing, with the faculty preceptor and students physically located in different locations throughout the state. After the APPE, students completed a retrospective survey comparing their perspectives and learning outcomes before and after the rotation. They also provided feedback on the experience. Students completed the standard APPE evaluation. Faculty preceptor's self-reflections and experiential administration's perspectives were documented. Results. Six students completed this unique APPE over three academic years. After the rotation, five students (83%) stated that their interest in a full-time academic career increased, while one student's (17%) interest stayed the same. All students stated there was "no hindrance" with this rotation being conducted via videoconference or with the geographical distance between the faculty preceptor and them. Student ratings of nine learning outcomes increased after completing the APPE, demonstrating their perception of their knowledge improved in all topic areas. Conclusion. Students, the faculty preceptor, and experiential administration deemed this videoconference academic APPE effective and successful. This experience affords students, without regard for physical location, the opportunity to pursue interests in academia, adds to the variety of APPEs offered by the school, and allows students to learn about careers in academic pharmacy, an area of growing need in the pharmacy profession.

Zooming forward: An advanced pharmacy practice experience utilizing virtual case‐based learning in response to COVID‐19

“…There is an abundance of education literature related to fully online or hybrid delivery models 1‐5 . However, there is no guidance on how to rely exclusively on learning management systems such as Canvas (Instructure, Salt Lake City, UT) for clinically‐oriented experiential education.…”

A Virtual Community Pharmacy Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) in Response to COVID-19

“…Student practice in the community pharmacy setting became limited for some due to the COVID-19 pandemic and required a virtual option to be developed. Previous studies have demonstrated success using video conferencing and online modalities in APPE delivery (Eiland et al, 2018). Other institutions and other pharmacy practice settings have described their transition to online experiential platforms with direct daily videoconference interactions which substituted for the direct daily face-to-face interactions that would have otherwise been assessed during an APPE rotation outside of a pandemic situation (Badreldin et al, 2020).…”

Forging ahead from adaptations of teaching during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Perspectives from multiple pharmacy programs

“…Videoconferencing offers solutions to several challenges, as videoconferencing tools are useful for topic discussions, presentations, and synchronous or asynchronous content delivery during experiences 37,38 . These tools can also be used to conduct and precept telehealth visits 39 .…”

“…This hybrid learning experience provided synchronous content across two campuses as well as online modules. 38 Eiland et al describe an alternative model for an academic remote APPE, where both the faculty preceptor and students are physically remote from each other and all contact was conducted synchronously via videoconference 37 . Videoconferenced patient discussions and patient care would require HIPAA compliant or temporarily pandemic approved communication methods 40 .…”

“…While examples of clinician telehealth exist in the literature, the few extant examples of experiential education exist mostly in psychology 37,38,42‐45 . Within psychology, remote supervision has been noted to help supervisees stay on task 40 .…”