Portia Davis, PharmD
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Texas Southern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Bryan Pari-An
PharmD Candidate
Texas Southern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Yesenia Vivar
PharmD Candidate
Texas Southern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Paul Ramos
PharmD Candidate
Texas Southern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Ivy Oiyee Poon, PharmD, BCPS
Professor in Pharmacy Practice
Texas Southern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Title: Virtual Simulation in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Pharmacy Education
Introduction: Pharmacist participation in cardiac arrest decreases adverse drug events and hospital mortality. Developing a foundational knowledge base and confidence in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) management is an increasing focus in pharmacy education. The use of high-fidelity ACLS simulation (SIM) has been shown to enhance pharmacy student confidence in ACLS management. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person SIM was not feasible. A virtual high-fidelity SIM was created and implemented as part of a cardiovascular pharmacotherapy course. This observational cohort study assessed the impact of virtual SIM on student's learning and confidence in ACLS.
Methods: Second-year pharmacy students virtually attended a 2-hour cardiac arrest lecture followed by 20 minutes of virtual high-fidelity SIM and a 30 minute debrief. The virtual SIM was conducted at the school SIM center by a clinical pharmacist at bedside with a SIM manikin while students at home participated in the code through video conference. Students observed vital sign changes and manikin reactions in real-time at home while participating in the interactive SIM. Students completed a pre- and post-SIM survey to evaluate their confidence in ACLS medication-related management.
Results: A total of sixty-six students participated in the virtual SIM, in which 53 and 44 individual students completed the 7-question pre- and post-SIM survey, respectively. The change in percent of students who agreed to be confident in ACLS medication therapy, preparing code cart medications, and making dose recommendations increased by 28.4%, 51.4%, and 55.3%, compared to pre-SIM, respectively. Student agreement in understanding the role of the pharmacist in ACLS increased from 74.0% to 93.2%. Overall, 88.6% of students agreed that the virtual SIM exercise enhanced their learning of ACLS pharmacotherapy. Students' knowledge was assessed post-SIM by 6 exam questions with a class average of 88.8% accuracy with a discrimination index range of 0.11-0.45 (N=66).
Conclusions: This study is one of the first to experiment with virtual ACLS SIM in a pharmacotherapy course. The virtual ACLS SIM experience showed a positive impact on students' learning and confidence and provided important insights into providing quality ACLS education online.