Impact of standardized simulated patients on first-year pharmacy students’ knowledge retention of insulin injection technique and counseling skills

Objective. To compare pre- and post-intervention test scores assessing insulin injection technique and counseling skills among P1 students with (intervention) or without (control) simulated patients, and to compare counseling checklist and knowledge retention test scores between groups. Methods. This study utilized cluster randomization. In addition to traditional instruction, the intervention group counseled a simulated patient on the use of insulin using the teach-back method. Test score changes from baseline were analyzed via two-sample t-test. Results. The intervention group exhibited a significantly greater increase in knowledge test scores from baseline compared to the control group. Similar changes were seen in post-instruction counseling checklist scores and knowledge retention test scores from baseline. Conclusion. Simulated patient interactions, when added to traditional coursework within a P1 skills lab, improve student counseling aptitude and knowledge retention scores