Reinforcing Immunology Concepts With Student Pharmacists Through a Point-of-Care Testing Lab

In US-based doctoral pharmacy education, students receive immunology instruction; however, advanced cellular and molecular concepts are often abstract and pose a challenge for many. Therefore, a first-year laboratory experience was designed for students to observe antibodies in action and connect this activity to patient care.

Participants were enrolled in a first-year Microbiology and Immunology and an Integrated Sciences Lab course. One week after a didactic introduction, urine pregnancy tests were used in the lab to reinforce immunology concepts. Changes in participant knowledge, results interpretation and related confidence, and ability to generate patient-friendly communication were measured. Analysis was generated using GraphPad Prism and Flesch-Kincaid readability was calculated.

Participants (N = 88) completed the lab in the fall of 2021 and 2022. Knowledge-related item performance improved by 20.4% after the lab and was sustained on the longitudinal assessment. Reported confidence in results interpretation increased to over 90%. Participant-synthesized responses explaining the science behind point-of-care (POC) tests averaged an eighth-grade reading level. Finally, student evaluation highlights the value of integrating pharmacy practice skills and foundational science concepts.

Through an active learning experience, participants were introduced to POC testing and explained the science behind patient results. Although this lab is limited by evaluation at a single site, POC testing is readily adaptable to other foundational sciences and offers a low-cost approach to actively engage with "invisible science" concepts in a meaningful way.