Crilly, Philip, Albahayat, Ahmed A, Alkhamees, Farah K and Haashi, Idman A (2023) A test-teach-test approach to support first year undergraduate pharmacy students with pharmaceutical calculations. In: The tenth Pharmacy Education Conference; 11 Sept 2023, Manchester, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Abstract

Mastering pharmaceutical calculations is an essential skill for healthcare professionals, particularly given the potential harm to patients if performed incorrectly.(Ancker and Kaufman 2007; Taylor and Byrne-Davis 2016). To determine if a test-teach-test approach to teaching pharmaceutical calculations increases the knowledge and confidence of first year undergraduate pharmacy students (PS). The study population was all first year PS (N=140) at one UK university. The study was in three phases. Phase one - a survey. PS listed calculation topics they struggled with. They also indicated their preferred learning methods. Phase two was a teaching session, using phase one data. Participants sat a 10-question calculation test (T1) for 25 minutes. They then had a one-hour teaching session that incorporated their preferred learning methods. After this, they sat another 10-question calculation test (T2), covering the same topics, again over 25 minutes, to determine if scores improved. Following phase two, phase three was an evaluation survey to determine if student confidence had improved. Ethical approval was obtained. Data were analysed in Excel and SPSS. Paired t-test was used to compare mean test scores (p<0.05). Response rate: 62.1% (N=87/140). Topics struggled with included displacement volume, infusion rate, equivalent doses. Preferred learning methods included use of videos and drawings. Paired sample t-test indicated a significant improvement in student knowledge (t1 mean=3.7/10, t2 mean=6.8/10; t(86)=-12.05 (p<0.01)). Almost all (98.9%, N=86/87), stated that their confidence in calculations had improved following the session, with 38.0% (N=33/87) noting a significant improvement. Furthermore, there was an uplift in the proportion of students who stated that they felt they had a high level of understanding of the taught topics. A test-teach-test approach for teaching pharmaceutical calculations not only increases PS knowledge but also their confidence. Taking students’ preferred learning methods into account may also increase engagement and understanding.

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