Pharmacy students' views and experiences regarding an online video-recorded objective structured clinical examination.

Dalton, Kieran; Scannell, Kate; Kerr, Aisling

Abstract

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are considered gold standard in the assessment of pharmacy students' clinical skills. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, necessitated for minimising in-person interactions and therefore more innovative approaches to OSCE delivery. The objective of this study was to provide pharmacy students the opportunity to participate in an online video-recorded OSCE with pharmacist feedback, and thereafter assess their views and experiences regarding this initiative and reviewing the recording. Ethics approval was obtained prior to study commencement. All 3rd year pharmacy students in University College Cork, Ireland (n=68) were invited to participate in a formative video-recorded OSCE station online via Microsoft® Teams in April 2021, comprising one minute of reading time and five minutes of interaction time, followed by an individualised feedback session with a pharmacist facilitator. Participants were sent two surveys: one on the day of the OSCE and the other after receiving the video recording 7 days later. Closed-ended questions were analysed using Microsoft® Excel and free text comments underwent content analysis. Twenty-three students participated (34% of total), with 20 respondents to the first survey and 15 respondents to the second. Nearly all students enjoyed this OSCE experience (94%). Half of the students agreed that conducting the OSCE online (rather than in person) had no significant impact on their performance, whilst 75% agreed that knowing they were being recorded had no significant impact either. While most students (80%) agreed that this OSCE has prepared them for telepharmacy interactions in future, 25% found it difficult to get a personal connection with the simulated patient in this virtual environment. All students were satisfied with the quality of pharmacist facilitator feedback; however, 79% agreed that reviewing the recording had a significantly greater impact on them compared to receiving the facilitator feedback alone, and allowed them to become more aware of their body language during patient interactions. Whilst some students found it uncomfortable to watch the recording, 93% agreed (i) that reviewing their performance on video made them more self-aware of what clinical skills need development, and (ii) that they would review the video to help prepare for OSCEs in future. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate pharmacy students' views and experiences with a formative online video-recorded OSCE with individualised feedback. This research has shown that conducting a formative OSCE online is acceptable, enjoyable, and beneficial for pharmacy students, and should be considered where in-person interactions are not possible. Furthermore, this has emphasised the added value of providing a video recording after the OSCE to heighten pharmacy students' awareness of their non-verbal communication and enhance their clinical skills. Future studies with larger sample sizes should explore how student characteristics impact on their views with such video-recorded OSCEs.

Citation

DALTON, K., SCANNELL, K. and KERR, A. 2022. Pharmacy students' views and experiences regarding an online video-recorded objective structured clinical examination. Presented at the 50th ESCP (European Society of Clinical Pharmacy) symposium on clinical pharmacy, polypharmacy and ageing: highly individualized, interprofessional, person-centered care, 19-21 October 2022, Prague, Czech Republic.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: 50th ESCP (European Society of Clinical Pharmacy) symposium on clinical pharmacy, polypharmacy and ageing: highly individualized, interprofessional, person-centered care
• Start Date: Oct 19, 2022
• End Date: Oct 21, 2022
• Deposit Date: Mar 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 27, 2023
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-022-01521-5
• Keywords: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs); Pharmacy students; Clinical skills; COVID-19 pandemic
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1919457
• Additional Information: Abstract published as:; DALTON, K., SCANNELL, K. and KERR, A. 2022. Pharmacy students' views and experiences regarding an online video-recorded objective structured clinical examination. International journal of clinical pharmacy [online], 44(6): conference abstracts of 50th ESCP (European Society of Clinical Pharmacy) symposium on clinical pharmacy, polypharmacy and ageing: highly individualized, interprofessional, person-centered care, 19-21 October 2022, Prague, Czech Republic, article PDF-4.05, pages 1493. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-022-01521-5