Online simulation versus traditional classroom learnings in clinical pharmacy education: effect on students'...

Over the course of the past few years, the area of medical education has experienced a substantial movement towards the establishment of online learning platforms and resources. This study aimed to to evaluate the efficacy of an online simulation learning intervention, MyDispense^®, compared to traditional classroom learning in terms of enhancing knowledge, satisfaction, and self-confidence among participants.

A multicentre randomized controlled study was conducted among pharmacy students who were assigned either intervention MyDispense^® or control traditional classroom learning groups. They were eligible if they previously had experience with online simulation learning. A previously validated questioner were used to measure the outcome of knowledge, satisfaction and self-confidence.

Both the intervention and control groups revealed significant improvement in knowledge, the P value for pre-post knowledge scores for each group was < 0,001. Despite these internal improvements, this study's findings showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) between the intervention and control groups on knowledge gain, satisfaction, or self-confidence. This represents comparable outcomes irrespective of the group's exposure to intervention.

The study evaluated the efficacy of online simulation learning intervention MyDispense^® in comparison to traditional classroom learning. While both strategies effectively improved knowledge, satisfaction, and self-confidence, the findings demonstrated that the online simulation yielded equivalent learning benefits. MyDispense^® could be an alternative to traditional education in situations where face to face learning is not feasible, with comparable learning outcomes.

not applicable.