Student and educator perspectives on virtual institutional introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE)

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has required governments around the world to suspend face-to-face learning for school and university students. Colleges of pharmacy are faced with the challenge of training students in hospitals that are under considerable pressure at this time. The government of Saudi Arabia has moved all classes and training online to limit the spread of the virus. This study describes the experience of the Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE and APPE) students and preceptors engaged in the virtual IPPE training. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to describe and appraise the implemented virtual IPPE training from the experiences of IPPE and APPE students, and their preceptor. The IPPE students described their experiences in close-ended questionnaires, while APPE students in open-ended questionnaires, and the preceptor described the experiences in narrative. The study focused on highlighting the advantages, opportunities, challenges, and shortcomings of the virtual training. Results Two preceptors and seven APPE students participated in the preparation and administration of the virtual training. The IPPE students’ experiences, based on 87 respondents, were mostly positive. Although IPPE students enjoyed the time flexibility that allowed the learning of new skills and reflection on previous experiences, 15% experienced difficulty finding quiet places with a reliable internet connection or had difficulty working on team-based activities. Moreover, some were anxious about the lack of adequate patient-care experience. On the other hand, the APPE students found the experience enriching as they gained experience and understanding of academic workflow, gained skills, and overcame the challenges they faced during this virtual training experience. Conclusions Future training programs should be organized to overcome the challenges and to maximize the benefits of training experiences. Schools of pharmacy may benefit from the training materials constructed, prepared, and administered by APPE students to improve IPPE students’ learning experiences and outcomes.

Cross-Sectional Analysis of Taiwanese Pharmacy Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of Transitioning from In-Hospital Internships to Distance Learning Due to COVID-19

“…Compared to many other countries, Taiwan was more successful at controlling the spread of COVID; thus, in-hospital internships for pharmacy students did not undergo a complete shift to distance learning. However, the conditions in Taiwan were conducive to students transitioning to distance learning, considering that we found that 80.2% of the sample could easily find a space suitable for distance learning and 84% felt that Taiwan had sufficiently stable Internet speed to accommodate online distance learning; this was in contrast to Almohammed et al, who reported only 58.6% and 50.6% agreement, respectively [ 21 ]. Some students stated that the distance learning required an increased amount of attention and active participation; otherwise, the students felt, since there was no supervision of the distance learning, especially with closed cameras, that they might not achieve the same level of learning.…”

“…and ‘there were a lot of unnecessary assignments that took a lot of time, and it was inconvenient to carry out discussion with peers’. Almohammed et al stated that even with high-tech virtual-reality teaching tools, students still worried about practicing independently in the real world; since they were not prepared to communicate with patients in the real world, students were worried about their lack of practical experience [ 21 ]. Muflih et al found that more than 60% of pharmacy students believed that the barriers to distance learning included time-consuming courses [ 22 ], and the students in our sample also believed that extra time was needed to complete their distance-learning courses.…”

Training healthcare professionals to be ready for practice in an era of social distancing: A realist evaluation

“…Medical students taking part in simulated management of common clinical scenarios unanimously agreed in a self-evaluation that simulation increased their clinical preparedness (Kasai et al, 2021). Similarly, 70% of pharmacy students agreed the bespoke simulated training course was bene cial to their future practice (Almohammed et al, 2021).…”

COVID-19-Driven Improvements and Innovations in Pharmacy Education: A Scoping Review

“…Overall, student experiences were positive and there was a high level of satisfaction with the materials presented. Most students felt that clear connections made between didactic knowledge and application of this knowledge within the training and that the virtual experiences helped them better understand relevance to pharmacy practice [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. The collective data indicate that the most valuable aspects of the virtual APPE experiences were patient case presentations, journal clubs, topic discussions, and formal written assignments.…”

“…In the study by Montepara et al, students noted that they appreciated working with a variety of preceptors from different specialties and practice settings within the same virtual APPE rotation experience [28]. Common student concerns included anxiety about a lack of adequate patient care experience, and many students noted that virtual APPE activities should not completely replace in-person APPE rotations [26,31]. Suggestions for improvement included standardizing how information is disseminated to multiple students for virtual presentations and the virtual platforms used [28].…”