INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT An Innovative Elective Course in Anticoagulation Management

Objective. To develop and implement an elective pharmacy course in anticoagulation management and assess student learning. Design. Students participated in active-learning activities including evaluating a patient receiving outpatient or inpatient anticoagulation therapy, participating in a team project and presentation, and completing a ''living with anticoagulation'' assignment that included modeling both the health care provider's and the patient's role. Assessment. A precourse and postcourse standardized examination on anticoagulation along with a short answer midterm and final examination were administered. Performance between precourse and postcourse examination improved by approximately 25%, and 90% of students scored $ 90% on the final examination. Reflective narratives provided support that students found the ''living with anticoagulation'' assignment a valuable learning experience which developed empathy towards patients. Conclusion. An elective course in anticoagulation management that included multiple active-learning assignments was successful in increasing both students' knowledge and empathy