Retention of Students’ Ability to Incorporate a Computer into Simulated Patient Encounters

Objective. To assess pharmacy students’ ability to incorporate laptop computers into simulated patient encounters (SPEs) in the second professional year (P2) and assess their ability to retain these skills into the next professional year. Students’ awareness and confidence in using computers was also assessed.Methods. P2 students were surveyed about their awareness of and confidence in incorporating a computer into an SPE. Their performance using a computer in an SPE was evaluated using a blinded rubric. Next, they received formal education on this skill. Students then completed the same questionnaire and were evaluated on their ability to use a computer in another SPE. In the third year, they were evaluated using the same rubric on four activities and completed the same questionnaire at the end of each semester.Results. There were 166 students in the two cohorts. Of those, 158 students were evaluated using the rubric and 166 students completed the four questionnaires. Student performance improved from th...