A Two-Year Evaluation of Student Performance in Responding to a Simulated Opioid-Induced Breathing Emergency Using...

Pharmacist training on naloxone is often assessed within a few months following initial instruction; however, the retention of the skills necessary in a naloxone rescue beyond short-term follow-up and in the same cohort is not well documented. The aim of this study was to determine how students of the same class would perform on a simulated opioid-induced breathing emergency (OIBE) response with naloxone during their third professional (P3) year versus their first professional (P1) year.

Pharmacy students in their P1 year were provided asynchronous training on naloxone information and use 2 days prior to a required skills lab. During class, students were provided hands-on experience with various naloxone devices, and then completed a simulation related to an encountered OIBE with naloxone response. These students completed the same simulation 2 years later during their P3 year having not received any additional training. A checklist from previously published work was used to evaluate student performance during each simulation. Results of the P1 and P3 simulations were compared.

Eighty-three percent (n = 55) of students had P1 and P3 data and were included in the analysis. The mean scores for students with matching data were 77% (standard deviation [SD] = 10.42) during the P1 year and 86% (SD = 11.47) during the P3 year (p < 0.001). Two checklist items showed significant improvement from the P1 to P3 years: determine if the patient is breathing (P1 = 20%, P3 = 76%; p < 0.001), and slightly tilt the patient's head (P1 = 20%, P3 = 41%; p = 0.01). One item showed a significant decrease from the P1 to P3 years: determine if the patient has a pulse (P1 = 96%, P3 = 70%; p < 0.001).

Students of the same class performed better during their P3 year than their P1 year on a simulated OIBE with naloxone.