There’s an app for that – CheckMate: Practise your prescription checking skills on your mobile!

Abstract

Background Information: Skill mastery takes time and practise, so how can we encourage students to hone their prescription checking skills outside of class time? ‘CheckMate’ may be the answer. A mobile application integrating gamification was designed for students to practise checking prescriptions against a dispended product and label. Purpose: To encourage students to practise prescription-checking skills and improve their confidence in their skills in their own time. Method: Pharmacy students were asked to practise their checking skills on an online (mobile) platform. Students checked prescriptions against dispensed products and labels, and then answered a survey evaluating the app as a learning tool compared to static online or paper-based exercises. Pharmacy educators were also asked to trial the app, and to provide feedback on its potential integration into the teaching of mechanical dispensing and prescription checking skills. Results: Overall students and educators thought the app was beneficial for learning. Students suggested a score-board to display the top ‘checkers’ of the week to promote friendly competition. Many students preferred using the app to static online or paper-based activities. Pharmacy educators had positive feedback about integration of the mobile application into teaching and provided useful ideas for improvements. Conclusion: Integration of gamification in mobile applications may be a clever and time-efficient way to improve student skills and enable extra-curricular practise in a light-hearted, safe and fun way. Topic Area: academic pharmac