State anxiety, performance accuracy, and work pace in a simulated pharmacy dispensing task

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy practice
• Human factors in healthcare
• Psychology in professional settings

Background:

• Pharmacy students face complex tasks requiring high accuracy.
• Performance in simulated environments is crucial for training.
• Anxiety can impact cognitive functions and task performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between state anxiety and accuracy in a simulated pharmacy dispensing task.
• To determine if work pace is a predictor of accuracy in this context.
• To identify key factors influencing performance errors in pharmacy students.

Main Methods:

• 75 undergraduates participated in a simulated pharmacy dispensing task with 42 mock orders.
• Measures included accuracy, work pace, presimulation stress, and postsimulation workload and state anxiety.
• Statistical analyses were performed to examine relationships between variables.

Main Results:

• A strong negative correlation was found between state anxiety and overall accuracy.
• State anxiety emerged as a significant predictor of errors in the dispensing task.
• No direct relationship was observed between work pace and accuracy; indirect effects were noted after controlling for other factors.

Conclusions:

• State anxiety is a critical factor influencing accuracy in simulated pharmacy dispensing.
• Interventions to manage anxiety may improve performance and reduce errors in pharmacy students.
• Focusing solely on work pace may not be effective for enhancing accuracy without addressing underlying anxiety.