Incorporating a Practice Drug Information Question into an Evidence-Based Medicine Skills Lab

Objectives: To assess changes in student pharmacist confidence and proficiency in verbal inter-professional communication, specifically though the incorporation of a feedback-oriented practice exercise prior to a graded simulated drug information request.


Methods: An interdisciplinary team of pharmacy faculty, pharmacy fellows, and library faculty collaborated to give students the opportunity for a no-stakes oral drug information question as practice for a graded assignment later in the semester. Students received the rubric used for both the practice and graded activity. Students received oral feedback for the practice question and written feedback for the graded assignment. Students were assigned a short reflection assignment after the practice question and invited to participate in a survey assessing their experiences and attitudes after the graded assignment. The reflections were collected through the course learning management system and will be qualitatively analyzed and the optional surveys were administered via Qualtrics and includes a mix of likert questions and free response questions. This study was approved by the institutional review board.


Results: Of the 140 students that were evaluated, 136 responded to the survey (97%). There was a significant increase from baseline in respondents who agreed that they were confident in their ability to communicate with healthcare professionals after the practice exercise (43% to 91%) with 88% of students agreeing that they received valuable feedback regarding their communication skills. Grade averages from the practice exercise to the graded assessment increased from 83% to 92%, with 12% vs 1% of students failing the assignment respectively. Students additionally reflected on the suitability of the practice exercise to their learning style, with at least 80% of students agreeing or strongly agreeing that the practice exercise helped identify communication strengths and weaknesses, and that the practice exercise enhanced the student’s overall learning experience.


Conclusions: The addition of a practice drug information activity resulted in increased student performance in the graded assignment, with fewer students failing the assignment. The implementation of a practice exercise that included immediate feedback enhanced overall student perceptions regarding their own communication skills, and provided valuable feedback that was conducive to student learning styles.