Students and faculty perception of Active Learning: a case study

Active Learning (AL), a pedagogical approach during which students focus on application of knowledge rather than memorisation was integrated into a new undergraduate pharmacy curriculum in a UK University. This paper evaluates student and faculty perceptions of AL. First and second year students enrolled on the pharmacy course and faculty members were invited to respond to an online questionnaire covering three domains: value, effort and instructor contribution during AL sessions. Thirty-five students (58.3%) and 9 (60%) faculty members participated in the study. Nine AL sessions were provided. A difference in the perceived effectiveness of AL between students and faculty was identified mostly in two AL activities: patient as teacher (an expert patient talking about his/her condition to pharmacy students) and prescription review. Students and faculty confirmed the value of the AL activities with agreeing and strongly agree. Students confirmed they put effort into these activities and recognised the instructor contribution during the sessions. Overall, students and faculty had a positive perception of the AL sessions

Perceptions of team-based learning using the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument: an exploratory analysis amongst pharmacy and biomedical students in the United Kingdom

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate students’ perception of team-based learning (TBL) amongst a cohort exposed to this methodology for the first time at a university in the United Kingdom. Methods Between November and December 2018, 26 first-year Master of Pharmacy and 90 second-year Biomedical Science students of the School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, United Kingdom were invited to participate and requested to complete a questionnaire that contained quantitative and qualitative questions. The quantitative component was based on the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI). It additionally contained questions about key student characteristics. Results The response rate was 60% (70 of 116); of the participants, 74% (n=52) were females and 26% (n=18) males. The percentage of agreement in the TBL-SAI suggested a favourable response to TBL. The overall mean score for the TBL-SAI was 115.6 (standard deviation, 5.6; maximum score, 140), which was above the threshold of 102, thus suggesting a preference for TBL. Statistically significant differences were not found according to demographic characteristics. Students who predicted a final grade of ≥70% strongly agreed that TBL helped improve their grades. Some students highlighted issues with working in teams, and only 56% of students agreed that they could learn better in a team setting. Conclusion This study shows that students exposed to TBL for the first time favoured several aspects of TBL. However, more focused strategies including team-building activities and expert facilitation skills could potentially tackle resistance to working in teams

A conceptual model for students’ satisfaction with team-based learning using partial least squares structural equation modelling in a faculty of life sciences, in the United Kingdom

Purpose Students’ satisfaction is an essential element in higher education. This study aimed to identify paths and predictive power of students’ satisfaction during team-based-learning activities in the faculty of life sciences using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Methods In 2018-19, at the University of Sussex (UK), 180 life science students exposed to team-based learning (TBL) were invited to participate in the study. Team-Based-Learning-Student-Assessment-Instrument was used. A conceptual model was developed for testing six hypotheses. H1: What was the effect of TBL on student satisfaction? H2: What was the effect of lectures on student satisfaction? H3: What was the effect of TBL on accountability? H4: What was the effect of lectures on accountability? H5: What was the effect of accountability on student satisfaction? H6: What were the in-sample and out-of-sample predictive power of the model? The analysis was conducted using the PLS-SEM approach. Results Ninety-nine students participated in the study giving a 55% response rate. Confirmatory tetrad analysis suggested a reflective model. Construct reliability, validity, average extracted variance and discriminant validity were confirmed. All path coefficients were positive, and five were statistically significant (H1:β=0.587, P<0:001; H2:β=0.262, P<0.001; H3:β=0.532, P<0.001; H4:β=0.063, P=0.546; H5:β=0.200, P=0.002). The in-sample predictive power was weak for Accountability, (R2=0.303, 95% CI 0.117-0.428, p<0.001) and substantial for Student Satisfaction (R2=0.678, 95% CI 0.498-0.777, P<0.001). The out-of-sample predictive power was moderate. Conclusions The results have demonstrated the possibility of developing and testing a TBL conceptual model using PLS-SEM for the evaluation of path coefficients and predictive power relative to students’ satisfaction

Training of pharmacists in Zambia: developments, curriculum structure and future perspectives

In Zambia, local training of pharmacists commenced in 2001. Development of pharmaceutical education in Zambia has been largely influenced by the national need for pharmacists in the healthcare sector. Training institutions offer the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) degree programme which follows a four-year curriculum structure. The B.Pharm. programme aims to produce pharmacists with requisite competences to practise pharmaceutical care and sustain the development of pharmacy in Zambia. Seventeen years down the line, Zambia continues to advance local pharmaceutical education programmes. Over 700 pharmacists have graduated from the national training programmes in Zambia which continue to address the pharmaceutical workforce needs. Pharmaceutical education in Zambia offers a number of career prospects in hospital, community, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medicine regulation, public health administration, and progression to academia. Positive transitions made to advance pharmacists’ training in Zambia give a positive outlook for the future

Perceptions of team-based learning using the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument : an exploratory analysis amongst pharmacy and biomedical students in the United Kingdom

This study aimed to evaluate students’ perception of team-based learning (TBL) amongst a cohort exposed to this methodology for the first time at a university in the United Kingdom. Between November and December 2018, 26 first-year Master of Pharmacy and 90 second-year Biomedical Science students of the School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, United Kingdom were invited to participate and requested to complete a questionnaire that contained quantitative and qualitative questions. The quantitative component was based on the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI)

A conceptual model for students’ satisfaction with team-based learning using partial least squares structural equation modelling in a faculty of life sciences, in the United Kingd

This study aimed to identify paths and predictive power of students’ satisfaction during team-based learning (TBL) activities in the faculty of life sciences using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). In 2018–2019, at the University of Sussex (Falmer, UK), 180 life science students exposed to TBL were invited to participate in the study. Team-Based-Learning-Student-Assessment-Instrument was used. A conceptual model was developed for testing six hypotheses. H1: What was the effect of TBL on student satisfaction? H2: What was the effect of lectures on student satisfaction? H3: What was the effect of TBL on accountability? H4: What was the effect of lectures on accountability? H5: What was the effect of accountability on student satisfaction? H6: What were the in-sample and out-of-sample predictive power of the model

Interventions for reducing medication errors in children in hospital

BACKGROUND: Many hospitalised patients are affected by medication errors (MEs) that may cause discomfort, harm and even death. Children are at especially high risk of harm as the result of MEs because such errors are potentially more hazardous to them than to adults. Until now, interventions to reduce MEs have led to only limited improvements. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing MEs and related harm in hospitalised children. SEARCH METHODS: The Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group (EPOC) Trials Search Co-ordinator searched the following sources for primary studies: The Cochrane Library, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Economic Evaluation Database (EED) and the Health Technology Assessments (HTA) database; MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, Proquest Dissertations & Theses, Web of Science (citation indexes and conference proceedings) and the EPOC Register of Studies. Related reviews were identified by searching the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Review authors searched grey literature sources and trial registries. They handsearched selected journals, contacted researchers in the field and scanned reference lists of relevant reviews. They conducted searches in November 2013 and November 2014. They applied neither language nor date limits. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted time series investigating interventions to improve medication safety in hospitalised children (≤ 18 years). Participants were healthcare professionals authorised to prescribe, dispense or administer medications. Outcome measures included MEs, (potential) patient harm, resource utilisation and unintended consequences of the interventions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed study quality using the EPOC data collection checklist. We evaluated the risk of bias of included studies and used the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to assess the quality of the body of evidence. We described results narratively and presented them using GRADE tables. MAIN RESULTS: We included seven studies describing five different interventions: participation of a clinical pharmacist in a clinical team (n = 2), introduction of a computerised physician order entry system (n = 2), implementation of a barcode medication administration system (n = 1), use of a structured prescribing form (n = 1) and implementation of a check and control checklist in combination with feedback (n = 1).Clinical and methodological heterogeneity between studies precluded meta-analyses. Although some interventions described in this review show a decrease in MEs, the results are not consistent, and none of the studies resulted in a significant reduction in patient harm. Based on the GRADE approach, the overall quality and strengfh of the evidence are low. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence on effective interventions to prevent MEs in a paediatric population in hospital is limited. Comparative studies with robust study designs are needed to investigate interventions including components that focus on specific paediatric safety issues