Training Students on the Pharmacist Patient Care Process using an Electronic Health Record and Simulations

Objective: To measure the impact of an electronic health record (EHR) and simulated physician encounters on student knowledge and skills related to the implementation phase of the Pharmacist Patient Care Process (PPCP). Secondary objectives were to measure students’ self-perceived abilities. Methods: Students enrolled in a therapeutics course worked-up patient cases within an EHR. Students entered orders/ prescriptions into the computerised provider order entry (CPOE) platform. Faculty graded student work using a rubric. Students completed an instructor-developed pre-post attitudes survey and knowledge quiz. Results: Two hundred students participated in this study and worked-up seven cases. Scores ranged from 67.7% to 88.2% on the case work-ups and 78.6% to 91.1% on the order/prescription-entry components. Individual scores on the quiz improved from 15.3/20 to 17.3/20 (p\u3c0.001). Aggregate ratings on the attitudes survey increased from 23.2 to 31.0 (p\u3c0.001). Conclusion: Use of an EHR coupled with simulation was well-received and improved student understanding of the PPCP