Evaluation of an intervention to support the development of clinical problem solving skills during a hospital-based experiential learning program for South African pharmacy students

Abstract

Introduction: Final year pharmacy students at the Nelson Mandela University described feeling unprepared for the complexities of clinical reasoning and problem solving during the hospital-based experiential learning program (ELP). The fifteen week ELP is part of the third Pharmacology and Therapeutics module taken in the final year of the four year Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) degree program. An intervention, in the form of supplementary academic support sessions, was implemented during the ELP. The aim of the research was to evaluate the intervention from the perspectives of the students' experience as well as academic performance in the ELP.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach using a quasi-experimental, intervention-based design was employed. Final year students in Year 1 (control cohort) completed the ELP as usual without additional academic support. In the consecutive academic year (Year 2), the intervention cohort completed the ELP that was enhanced with the intervention. Student feedback provided qualitative data, while quantitative data in the form of assessment marks were used as a measure of academic performance.

Results: The students' experience of the intervention was overwhelming positive and provided evidence that the students felt better prepared for patient case analysis as a result of the intervention. A small but significant improvement in academic performance in the ELP was also seen.

Conclusions: The intervention, using a modified team based learning (TBL) approach developed from student-identified needs, was successfully implemented and provided a means of enhancing the development of problem solving and clinical reasoning skills during the ELP, through additional academic support sessions.

Keywords: Academic performance; Active learning; Clinical reasoning; Experiential learning program; Mixed methods; Student perceptions.