The Use of Online Debates in Teaching Pharmacotherapy

Abstract

Given changes in the final year pharmacotherapy unit structure and calendar, along with a need to introduce assessments to encourage critical thinking, it was decided that online debates of therapeutic controversies would be beneficial. The primary objective was to assess the impact of teaching strategies on the development of argumentation skills and informal reasoning in pharmacy students. Students were provided with an introduction to argumentation followed by two formal debates, with feedback provided in between. Four debate groups were randomly selected for evaluation. In debate one, all groups posted one argument and all arguments were rationalistic and ranked as Level 3. For debate two, a total of 33 arguments were evaluated, with an overall median ranking of Level 2. Again, all debates were categorised as rationalistic. In general, students felt there was too much workload associated with the assignment. Changes in the future include providing the debates in patient scenarios to increase practical applicability.

Using Debate to Teach Pharmacy Students About Ethical Issues

“…The results of this project are consistent with that of the wider literature relating to debates. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] One researcher reported that observing students' debates was "like watching students spread their intellectual wings," without any real input needed from staff members. 50 About half of the students in the current study thought that their critical-thinking and rebuttal skills improved as a result of the debate experience.…”

“…A widely documented benefit of debating is the enhancement of critical-thinking skills. 14,15,17,19,23,27,28,[36][37][38][39] Therefore, debates have the potential to develop professional competencies while ensuring the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of relevant topics.…”

“…19,24,26,27,[44][45][46] Although ethical approval was not needed for implementation and evaluation of the debates, as was the case with a similar study, 47 the debates were discussed at relevant school educational subgroups, and necessary documentation was completed. These steps are standard practice before changes to teaching in the degree program can be introduced.…”

“…12 Debates have been used in numerous university subject areas, including economics, education, engineering, marketing, psychology, and various healthcarerelated programs such as dentistry, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, and pharmacy. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] However, the reported use of debates in pharmacy education is limited, particularly in the United Kingdom. 19,26,27,30 Many studies report positively on this method of teaching, showing that debates are an effective way to introduce complex and controversial issues into teaching, 22,31,32 to enhance learning and understanding of course content, 16,19,21,23,29,30,33 and to enable active engagement in learning.…”

“…20, 34 They have also been associated with improving communication [17][18][19]26,32,34 and empathy, 35 critical-thinking ability, 14,15,17,19,23,27,28,[36][37][38][39] literature searching, and application of evidence, 14,20,24,25 teamwork, 15,19,26,18 and self-directed learning. 24,40 The aim of the current project was to create, implement, and evaluate debate as a method of teaching pharmacy students about ethical issues.…”