Bridging the gap: An evaluation of self-paced online transition modules for advanced pharmacy practice experience students.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A three module online self-paced educational resource was developed for entry to practice students transitioning from the classroom to their inpatient practicums. The objective of this study was to determine the benefits of the transition modules on students' self-perceived competency as related to onsite performance and reduction in anxiety during their inpatient practicum. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Evaluations of the three transition modules were conducted in two phases via electronic surveys distributed to final year advanced pharmacy practice students and focus group members including faculty, pharmacy practice educators, and pharmacy residents. FINDINGS: Based on our findings, the modules addressed common learning needs. While 69.7% of student respondents from Phase II of the evaluation found the modules to have positively impacted their onsite performance, only 24.7% believed the modules reduced their anxiety. DISCUSSION: The study indicates that students found the modules to be relevant to inpatient practice and of appropriate difficulty. Although most students perceived the modules to enhance performance on practicum, student anxiety levels appeared to remain unchanged. SUMMARY: Based on feedback and results, it may be beneficial to expose students to transition modules earlier in the curriculum in tandem with other inpatient preparatory activities. The results from this study may be of interest or benefit other universities and healthcare educators pursuing work on transition activities.

Self-paced online learning modules for pharmacy practice educators: Development and preliminary evaluation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a series of six, self-paced online practice educator development modules and to describe the preliminary program evaluation conducted for them. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Six online learning modules were developed. In the preliminary program evaluation, a mixed methods approach was used to investigate whether module content was effective in conveying useful information to practice educators and was reaching those at a geographic distance from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. User demographic data, module completion results, user evaluation survey responses, and content expert reviews of the modules were collected and analyzed for quality assurance and program evaluation. FINDINGS: The preliminary evaluation results indicated a positive response. The evaluation survey results showed that most practice educators found their understanding of the subject had increased from their personal baseline after completing the module. From the total of 197 users that had registered for the Practice Educator Resource Centre and self-declared their geographic location, 56% were categorized as being within the Lower Mainland, while 44% were located outside of this area, at a geographic distance from UBC. DISCUSSION: This early data indicated the modules were reaching practice educators across BC. Continual evaluation will be needed to support the preliminary positive practice educator user experience. SUMMARY: The self-paced online practice educator modules are an accessible and possibly effective means of providing skills and training to new and current pharmacy practice educators.