Knowledge and self-perception comparisons between students with and without prior technician experience in community...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Experiential Learning
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• The benefit of community pharmacy dispensing labs for Doctor of Pharmacy students with prior pharmacy technician experience is not well-established.
• Anecdotal evidence suggests these students may not perceive significant value from such courses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare the pharmacy practice knowledge and self-perceptions of Doctor of Pharmacy students with and without previous community pharmacy technician experience within a dispensing lab course.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of Doctor of Pharmacy students in a community pharmacy dispensing lab course completed pre- and post-course knowledge assessments and self-perception surveys.
• Knowledge assessments comprised 20 scenario-based multiple-choice questions covering community pharmacy law, workflow, inventory, insurance, and prescription verification.
• Student's t-tests were used to analyze differences in knowledge scores and survey variables, including experience length and confidence.

Main Results:

• Students with prior technician experience achieved statistically significantly higher scores on both pre- and post-course knowledge assessments compared to students without experience (e.g., post-course: 67% vs. 53%).
• Students without prior technician experience reported statistically significant increases in perceived knowledge and confidence across multiple domains.
• Conversely, students with prior technician experience showed fewer significant gains in self-perceived knowledge and confidence.

Conclusions:

• A baseline knowledge gap exists between pharmacy students with and without prior technician experience in community pharmacy simulation labs.
• The findings suggest that current lab structures may not optimally benefit experienced students, while significantly enhancing the learning of inexperienced students.
• Consideration should be given to alternative educational strategies, such as 'testing out' or differentiated learning tracks, for community pharmacy lab courses.