The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual Reality in Pharmacy Education.

Objective. To characterize how virtual reality (VR) has been and is being used in pharmacy education, and evaluate the projected utility of VR technology in pharmacy education in the future. Findings. Virtual reality technology has been used in pharmacy education for many years to provide engaging learning experiences. Although these learning experiences were not available in the three-dimensional digital environments provided by current VR, they demonstrated improvements in learning. Recent technological advancements have substantially increased the potential usefulness of VR for pharmacy education by providing immersive educational activities that mimic real world experiences to reinforce didactic and laboratory concepts. Virtual reality training that uses head-mounted displays is just beginning in pharmacy education, but more educational VR programs are becoming available. Further research will be necessary to fully understand the potential impact of VR on pharmacy education. Summary. Virtual reality technology can provide an immersive and interactive learning environment, overcoming many of the early challenges faced by instructors who used virtual activities for pharmacy education. With further technological and software development, VR has the potential to become an integral part of pharmacy education.

Comparison of pharmacy students' perceptions and attitudes toward spirometry first-hand experience versus paper-based active learning.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spirometry is often technically challenging for patients. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of spirometry in the community pharmacy setting. This study compared pharmacy students' perceptions and attitudes toward performing spirometry, as well as implementing spirometry in clinics and community pharmacies through experiencing spirometry first-hand versus completing paper-based active learning exercises. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: First-year (N = 102) and second-year (N = 70) pharmacy students were provided with the same pre-class materials to learn about the spirometry process. During class, first-year (P1) students performed spirometry tests, while second-year (P2) students completed paper-based active learning exercises about spirometry without performing the test. A survey was provided to each group at the end of the class to: (1) compare students' perception of the difficulty of performing spirometry, and (2) identify patient, clinic, and pharmacy barriers to implementing spirometry testing. FINDINGS: P1 students perceived performing spirometry as significantly more difficult compared to P2 students. Both P1 and P2 students perceived correct posture and breathing technique, and patient discomfort as the most difficult parts of performing spirometry. Significantly more P1 students (91.1%) perceived spirometry as a "helpful and noninvasive tool to screen for pulmonary diseases" than P2 students (54.1%). SUMMARY: Students who experienced spirometry perceived it to be more difficult than those who completed paper-based active learning exercises. Incorporating spirometry into a pharmacy curriculum could be an opportunity to increase students' insight of the difficulty of performing spirometry and their appreciation for the clinical services pharmacists can provide.

Exploring virtual reality as a platform for distance team-based learning.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Online distance education has become popular in pharmacy education, but it can be challenging to provide engaging experiences such as team-based learning (TBL) in this format. This study explored the utility of virtual reality (VR) as a platform to provide the engaging elements of TBL, without students needing to be physically present in the same room. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Volunteers participated in a modified TBL exercise in VR, followed by a survey of the experience. The survey included Likert-type questions to evaluate the level of immersion and perceived engagement, comfort and desirability of VR-TBL experiences. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: The majority of the responses to the 14-question survey were 'agree' or 'strongly agree'. Ninety-four percent (94.4%) of participants strongly agreed that this was a fun experience, and 94.4% of participants strongly agreed that they would take a course in this format if it was offered. Although none of the questions received a majority of 'disagree' or 'strongly disagree' responses, areas for improvement included ease of use of the technology, comfort and improving the learning activity. SUMMARY: The response of participants to this study was positive and the overall conclusion was that VR has the potential to be a useful tool for online, distance TBL, and should be explored further.

The Impact of Obesity on the Efficacy of Simvastatin for Lowering Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in a Veteran Population.

A retrospective review found that obesity did not impact the lipid-lowering effectiveness of simvastatin therapy.