Improving Self-Perceived Competencies of Second-Year Pharmacy Students Through an Introductory Medication...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Clinical Skills Development
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is a critical healthcare process.
• It presents a valuable learning opportunity for pharmacy students.
• Pharmacists' expertise is central to effective MedRec.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in clinical competence, confidence, and communication skills.
• To assess the impact of a MedRec rotation on second-year pharmacy students.
• To analyze student self-reported outcomes post-rotation.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective post-then-pre-survey design was employed.
• 29 questions assessed changes in key domains.
• Cohen's d was used for effect size calculation.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in clinical competency (2.49 ± 1.90), confidence (3.57 ± 2.13), and communication skills (3.12 ± 2.15) were reported.
• Most individual questions showed large effect size changes.
• Students perceived a positive impact on patient care (7.39 ± 1.57).

Conclusions:

• This study is the first large-scale examination of student-evaluated MedRec rotation outcomes.
• Students reported high post-rotation competency across all assessed domains.
• Underrepresented groups achieved parity with peers, indicating a successful learning model.