An educational tool for teaching medication history taking to pharmacy students

To implement and evaluate the use of a situated-learning experience to prepare second-year pharmacy students to conduct medication history interviews in preparation for introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE) at ambulatory clinic sites.

Second-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students (n=200) used the Medication Mysteries Infinite Case Tool, a game-like educational tool in which groups of 3 students assumed the roles of pharmacist, patient, and observer and rolled a die and drew cards to determine the drugs, patient personality, medication problems, and other variables that guided a medication history taking session.

After the laboratory session, faculty members assessed students' medication history-taking skills. One hundred sixteen (58%) and 78 (39%) of 200 students achieved excellence or competence, respectively, on the final assessment. Two weeks after the assessment, 53 of 200 (26.5%) students completed a survey instrument. The respondents indicated that their self-confidence in conducting medical history taking significantly improved following completion of the learning experience.

Using the Medication Mysteries Infinite Case Tool increased students' confidence and skills in conducting medication history taking prior to their clinical IPPE experience.