Impact of Spacing of Practice on Learning Brand Name and Generic Drugs

Objective. To test the impact of schedules of retrieval practice on learning brand and generic name drug information in a self-paced course. Methods. Students completed weekly quizzes on brand and generic name conversions for 100 commonly prescribed drugs. Each student completed part of the drug list on a schedule of equal, expanding, or contracting spacing, one practice (massed) or study only in a partial block design. Results. On measures of long-term retention, the contracting spacing schedule led to superior retention (67%) compared to the massed practice (50%) and study-only condition (46%); contracting practice also was significantly higher than expanding practice (58%,) or equal practice (59%). Overall performance decreased by almost 50% (final exam 95%, long-term retention 55%) over a 6-week period. Conclusion. A contracting spacing schedule was the most effective schedule of practice, and all spacing schedules were superior to massed practice or study-only conditions.