Enhancing student knowledge and confidence through two sequential total parenteral nutrition active learning...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Clinical Skills Training
• Nutritional Support

Background:

• Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) education requires effective methods for skill mastery.
• Current strategies for TPN skill development in pharmacy students are not well-defined.
• Assessing student knowledge and confidence in TPN is crucial for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of two TPN educational activities on pharmacy students' knowledge and confidence.
• To determine student preferences between a team-based hand calculation activity and a simulated TPN calculator activity.

Main Methods:

• Third-year pharmacy students engaged in didactic TPN lectures followed by two practical activities: team-based hand calculations and a simulated TPN calculator exercise.
• Pre- and post-assessments, including knowledge-based and confidence-based questions, were administered.
• Student perceptions and preferences were gathered through post-activity open-ended questions.

Main Results:

• Knowledge scores improved in seven out of ten assessed areas following the TPN activities.
• Student confidence levels increased across all five measured Likert-scale questions.
• A significant majority (93.3%) of students preferred the hand calculation activity over the simulated calculator.

Conclusions:

• Implementation of TPN-focused educational activities effectively enhanced student knowledge and confidence.
• Pharmacy students demonstrated a clear preference for manual calculation-based TPN activities compared to simulated tools.