Weekly Active-Learning Activities in a Drug Information and Literature Evaluation Course

Objective. To implement and evaluate the impact of an elective evidence-based medicine (EBM) course on student performance during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). Design. A 2-hour elective course was implemented using active-learning techniques including case studies and problem-based learning, journal club simulations, and student-driven wiki pages. The small class size (15 students) encouraged independent student learning, allowing students to serve as the instructors and guest faculty members from a variety of disciplines to facilitate discussions. Assessment. Pre-and posttests found that students improved on 83% of the core evidence-based medicine concepts evaluated. Fifty-four APPE preceptors were surveyed to compare the performance of students who had completed the EBM course prior to starting their APPEs with students who had not. Of the 38 (70%) who responded, the majority (86.9%) agreed that students who had completed the course had stronger skills in applying evidence-based medicine to patient care than other students. The 14 students who completed the elective also were surveyed after completing their APPEs and the 11 who responded agreed the class had improved their skills and provided confidence in using the medical literature. Conclusions. The skill set acquired from this EBM course improved students' performance in APPEs. Evidence-based medicine and literature search skills should receive more emphasis in the pharmacy curriculum.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evidence-based Medicine Elective Course to Improve Student Performance in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Bookstaver

Rudisill

Bickley

et al. 2011

“…Only a few studies have evaluated these courses. [3][4][5] Medical students who were given a 2-hour instructional session on evidence-based practice were able to obtain more relevant and complete search results compared to students who did not receive training. 3 Likewise, active-learning strategies (2-hour weekly literature search activities) in a drug information and literature evaluation course resulted in improvement in pharmacy students' ability and confidence to perform the course objectives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 Likewise, active-learning strategies (2-hour weekly literature search activities) in a drug information and literature evaluation course resulted in improvement in pharmacy students' ability and confidence to perform the course objectives. 4 Third-year medical students who received four 2-hour sessions on evidence-based medicine increased their ability to critically appraise the literature and their tendency to rely on original research articles to solve clinical problems. 5 It is, therefore, not only important to introduce students to evidence-based practice, but also to incorporate other strategies earlier in the curriculum to reinforce these concepts prior to beginning practice experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy Elective Course to Enhance Pharmacy Students’ Literature Evaluation Skills and Ability to Apply Clinical Evidence

Cheng

2012

Objectives. To design and implement a cardiovascular pharmacotherapy elective course to enhance pharmacy students' ability to evaluate medical literature and apply clinical evidence. Design. In weekly class sessions, students were provided an overview of the important literature supporting therapeutic guidelines for the management of major cardiovascular diseases. Students worked in groups to complete outside-of-class assignments involving a patient case and then discussed the case in class. During the semester, each student also independently completed a literature search on an assigned topic, summarized the studies found in table format, and presented 1 of the studies to the class. Assessment. Students' grades on weekly patient case assignments steadily increased over the semester. Also, the average grade on the final examination was higher than the grade on the midterm take-home examination. On the course evaluation, students rated the course favorably in terms of improvement of confidence in evaluating the primary literature and applying it to practice. Conclusion. Completion of the cardiovascular pharmacotherapy elective increased pharmacy students' level of confidence in evaluating literature and applying clinical evidence in making patient care decisions.

“…Innovations in teaching MLE include incorporating active-learning strategies into lecture-based courses, [13][14][15] providing course lecture material online rather than in the classroom, 16 using rubrics to aid students in assessment of a given piece of literature, 17,18 and requiring journal club participation during the advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) year. 19 Innovations in assessment of student ability to master literature evaluation include repeated testing embedded within and throughout the curriculum, 20 and assessment partway through the APPE year to measure long-term retention of previously-taught material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Literature Evaluation Education at US Schools of Pharmacy

O’Sullivan

Phillips

Demaris

2016

Objective. To determine how medical literature evaluation (MLE) is being taught across the United States and to summarize methods for teaching and assessing MLE.Methods. An 18-question survey was administered to faculty members whose primary responsibility was teaching MLE at schools and colleges of pharmacy. Results. Responses were received from 90 (71%) US schools of pharmacy. The most common method of integrating MLE into the curriculum was as a stand-alone course (49%). The most common placement was during the second professional year (43%) or integrated throughout the curriculum (25%). The majority (77%) of schools used a team-based approach. The use of active-learning strategies was common as was the use of multiple methods of evaluation. Responses varied regarding what role the course director played in incorporating MLE into advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). Conclusion. There is a trend toward incorporating MLE education components throughout the pre-APPE curriculum and placement of literature review/evaluation exercises into therapeutics practice skills laboratories to help students see how this skill integrates into other patient care skills. Several pre-APPE educational standards for MLE education exist, including journal club activities, a teambased approach to teaching and evaluation, and use of active-learning techniques.