Assessing Nontechnical Skills in Senior Pharmacy Students Using an Innovative Simulation Setting.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pharmacy students' nontechnical skills in a simulated session by assessing their teamwork skills and ability to identify patient safety priorities. METHODS: This study involved 2 phases. Phase I was a simulated case with a total of 23 errors. Students were divided into groups and instructed to identify errors in the setting. Teamwork skills were assessed using the Individual Teamwork Observation and Feedback Tool. Phase II was a debriefing and reflection session. Quantitative data were generated using the number of errors and Individual Teamwork Observation and Feedback Tool domain scores, while qualitative data were obtained using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The study participants were 78 female PharmD students who were divided into 26 groups. The average number of errors identified was 8 (range: 4-13), and the most identified error was using the wrong drug (96%). The teamwork skills displayed by most groups were shared decision-making, participating in discussions, and demonstrating respect and leadership in ways that were sensitive to the needs of the team. The students described the activity as fun and novel as it encouraged them to be more detail oriented. CONCLUSION: The designed simulation setting is an innovative tool to assess students' understanding of patient safety priorities and teamwork skills.

Cross-sectional study to evaluate burnout among pharmacy staff in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed healthcare workers, including pharmacists, at an increased risk of infection and has increased their workload, which could lead to burnout. Therefore, the present study aimed to measure the levels of burnout among hospital and community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the risk factors associated with burnout. METHODS: In the present cross-sectional study, an online survey was distributed among community and hospital (inpatient, outpatient, clinical, and administration) pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) survey was used to measure burnout levels. This 19-item survey covered three aspects: personal, work, and patient-related burnout. The survey included questions about socio-demographic factors and the major causes of psychological distress among pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inferential statistics were used for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 502 pharmacists were included in the present study. Of these, 59.1% were categorized as having clinically relevant burnout levels (scores ≥ 50).Univariate analysis revealed that the burnout level was significantly higher (p < 0.05) among pharmacists who were younger, were females, had lesser years of experience, or worked in the community pharmacy. The main factors associated with high burnout levels among community pharmacists were younger age, lesser years of experience, male gender, non-Saudi nationality, and higher numbers of customers. In the COVID-19 part of the survey, burnout was found to be strongly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fears of getting infected or of a family member getting infected, fears of the pandemic lasting for too long, and increased working hours were factors contributing to increased burnout levels during the COVID-19 pandemic with unadjusted ß of 8.336 and (95% CI 7.082-9.589, p value < 0.001). A lack of supportive work culture and sleeping disturbances were also found to be related to high burnout levels (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy staff in Saudi Arabia were found to experience high levels of burnout. The major risk factors causing burnout included younger age, female gender, lesser years of experience, a lack of supportive work culture, sleep disturbances, worries associated with increased workload during the pandemic, fears of getting infected, and increased working hours.

Assessing System Thinking in Senior Pharmacy Students Using the Innovative "Horror Room" Simulation Setting: A Cross-Sectional Survey of a Non-Technical Skill.

System thinking is an important competency for all healthcare professionals as it is a required skill to provide safe patient care. However, the literature does not describe how students gain such a skill or the manner in which it is assessed. Purpose: This study aimed to assess pharmacy students' non-technical skills in the form of system thinking and error detection in a simulated setting. Results were correlated with the number of errors students were able to identify in a team-based simulation activity called the "horror room." Patients and methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered after completion of the "horror room" simulation activity to identify elements of system thinking and error detection. Survey respondents were senior students enrolled in a patient safety course. System thinking elements identified in the survey were then linked to the number of errors reported. Results: Sixty-six students participated in the activity. Their mean grade point average (GPA) was 4.72 (standard deviation (SD) 0.22), and the mean number of errors detected was 8 (SD 2). The average total system thinking score (STS) was 68 (SD 8.4). There was no association between the number of errors detected and STS; however, a positive association was found between GPA and STS (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.27, p = 0.030). The most common type of error detected was a medication safety error (100%). Conclusions: High STS showed that teaching theory is important for students to learn concepts; however, knowing the ideas associated with system thinking does not necessarily translate into practice, as evidenced by the low number of errors students were able to detect.