Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Integrating simulation into Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE): A case study from Saudi Arabia

Dalia Almaghaslah , Abdulrahmn Alsayari, Shaden Abumelha

College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia;

For correspondence:- Dalia Almaghaslah Email: Damoazle@kku.edu.sa

Accepted: 2 December 2021 Published: 31 December 2021

Citation: Almaghaslah D, Alsayari A, Abumelha S. Integrating simulation into Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE): A case study from Saudi Arabia. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(12):2597-2604 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i12.20

© 2021 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To provide a model for using a simulation pharmacy lab as an adjunct to on-site training and assess its effectiveness for the introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs) community pharmacy setting as part of the PharmD program in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: The simulation pharmacy was developed and used as an adjunct to on-site training. The use of the lab in the IPPE community pharmacy course was assessed using online perceptions and self-confidence survey instruments, as well as a standard course evaluation.

Results: The self-efficacy assessment indicated that students were “confident” they had gained the practical skills related to the course objectives (weighted mean 3.41 out of 5). They “agreed” with the positive aspects of using the simulation pharmacy lab as an instructional model in this course (weighted mean 3.6 out of 5). However, they felt “neutral” towards the course aspects such as the clarity of the course objectives and the benefits of the didactic in-class lectures (weighted mean 3.2 out of 5).

Conclusion: The study results indicate that, although students were confident in their new skills and were satisfied with the simulation lab as a teaching model, they were less satisfied with the course itself. This could be due to the nature of an application-based course, which uses a new teaching strategy that created resistance in the students who had not been routinely exposed to similar courses. This simulation-based course also laid the groundwork for a similar course to be implemented at other colleges and schools of pharmacy. This model will help to overcome the challenges facing IPPEs.

Keywords: IPPE, Pharmacy education, Simulation