Phanudulkitti Chamipa, Puengrung Surangkana, Meepong Rittnarong, Vanderboll Kathryn, Farris Karen Bell, Vordenberg Sarah E
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Burapha University, 169 Long Had Bangsaen Rd, Saen Suk, Chon Buri District, Chon Buri 20131, Thailand.
Independent Researcher, 502 Charunsanitwong 79, Bangphlat District, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm. 2023 Aug 7;11:100316. doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100316. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Simulation use is rapidly expanding, with technologies like virtual patients (VPs) and computer-based simulation (CBS) allowing for educators to equip pharmacy students with the necessary skills that are aligned with the demands and expectations of a practicing pharmacy professional. These technologies enable pharmacy students to be exposed to challenging or infrequent patient case scenarios in an authentic pharmacy setting. This allows for the reinforcing of care processes and for techniques and crucial skills to be applied.
To consolidate the existing evidence regarding the utilization of VPs and CBS in preparing and supporting students in pharmacy experiential education and evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches in enhancing student pharmacists' learning outcomes, including knowledge, skills, confidence, enjoyment, and engagement.
Five electronic databases were searched using combined keyword and indexing terms (when available) with Boolean operators for the literature search. Studies that reported or investigated the use of VPs and CBS in pharmacy experiential education were included. Data on study design, demographics of participants, information on the interventions, course/skills, primary and secondary outcomes, and qualitative findings were extracted.
A total of 911 unique articles were initially identified and filtered down to 19 articles fitting within the inclusion criteria. The selected 19 articles involved student pharmacists (Y1-Y5) and pre-registered pharmacists from ten countries. Simulation tools were used in various pharmacy courses, including Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE), Advanced Pharmaceutical Care II, and Medication Management. Implementing these tools in pharmacy experiential education demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in student knowledge ( < 0.05). Most students agreed/strongly agreed that practicing with virtual patient cases enhanced their clinical reasoning, counseling skills, confidence in communication, and attitudes toward the courses.
This systematic review supports the use of VPs and CBS in pharmacy experiential education and provides practical recommendations for educators including selecting suitable tools, implementing them strategically within courses, integrating them with existing activities, and considering financial and IT support.
模拟技术的应用正在迅速扩展，虚拟患者（VP）和基于计算机的模拟（CBS）等技术使教育工作者能够让药学专业学生掌握与执业药学专业人员的要求和期望相一致的必要技能。这些技术使药学专业学生能够在真实的药学环境中接触具有挑战性或不常见的患者病例场景。这有助于强化护理流程，并应用相关技术和关键技能。
整合关于在药学实践教育中利用虚拟患者和基于计算机的模拟来培养和支持学生的现有证据，并评估这些方法在提高学生药剂师学习成果（包括知识、技能、信心、乐趣和参与度）方面的有效性。
使用组合关键词和索引词（如有）并结合布尔运算符在五个电子数据库中进行文献检索。纳入报告或调查虚拟患者和基于计算机的模拟在药学实践教育中应用的研究。提取有关研究设计、参与者人口统计学、干预措施信息、课程/技能、主要和次要结果以及定性研究结果的数据。
最初共识别出911篇独特文章，筛选后符合纳入标准的有19篇。所选的19篇文章涉及来自十个国家的药学专业学生（一年级至五年级）和预注册药剂师。模拟工具应用于各种药学课程，包括高级药学实践经验（APPE）、高级药学护理II和药物管理。在药学实践教育中实施这些工具显示学生知识有统计学上的显著提高（P<0.05）。大多数学生同意/强烈同意使用虚拟患者病例进行练习提高了他们的临床推理能力、咨询技能、沟通信心以及对课程的态度。
本系统评价支持在药学实践教育中使用虚拟患者和基于计算机的模拟，并为教育工作者提供了实用建议，包括选择合适的工具、在课程中战略性地实施、与现有活动整合以及考虑财务和信息技术支持。
