MedEdPORTAL (Oct 2015)
Using a Standardized Patient to Counsel on a New Prescription for Atorvastatin
Abstract
Abstract Introduction The case was developed to allow medical, nursing, or pharmacy students to apply the knowledge learned in a pharmacology course regarding the use of statins after a myocardial infarction. Often students do not see the value of basic science and overlook this material in order to get to the application of diagnosing and treating patient. In order to provide a bridge between didactic and experiential learning, this simulated patient case was created to let students practice being the provider while applying the knowledge learned in a pharmacology course. Methods Using a standardized patient in a real-life scenario, learners will counsel an inquisitive and educated patient on statin indication, mechanism of action, adverse effects, and drug/food interactions. Materials provided include student case, standardized patient instructions, and a dichotomous performance checklist. A postsession evaluation incorporating Likert scale responses (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) assessed students' perceptions of the experience. Perceptions were evaluated using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation). Results The materials have been used on 119 second-year pharmacy students enrolled in a pharmacology course. The activity was administered in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Clinical Skills Center. Students effectively addressed both skills and communications portions of the checklists with performance averages of 70.3% and 86.9%, respectively. The postsession survey was completed by 116 students reporting that the exercise stimulated learning (M = 4.09, SD = 0.97), was stressful (M = 3.22, SD = 1.05), was organized (M = 4.48, SD = 0.78), was challenging (M = 3.49, SD = 0.89), and was useful (M = 4.40, SD = 0.66). All (100%) students agreed simulation should be used next year in this course. Discussion Students perceived the patient encounter to be useful to learning and recommended it be incorporated in future coursework. Implementation of clinical exercises mimicking actual patient encounters should be considered in basic pharmaceutical sciences courses to enhance application of foundational knowledge. This case reinforced the ideas that standardized patient training is very important to ensure accuracy, and student input on case development is beneficial.
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