audience response technology engaging and empowering non-medical prescribing students in pharmacology learning观众反应技术参与和赋予非医疗处方药理学的学生学习.pdfVIP

Lymn and Mostyn BMC Medical Education 2010, 10:73 /1472-6920/10/73 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Audience response technology: Engaging and empowering non-medical prescribing students in pharmacology learning 1 2* Joanne S Lymn , Alison Mostyn Abstract Background: Non-medical prescribing (NMP) is a six month course for nurses and certain allied health professionals. It is critical that these students develop a good understanding of pharmacology; however, many students are mature learners with little or no formal biological science knowledge and struggle with the pharmacology component. The implications for patient safety are profound, therefore we encourage students not just to memorise enough pharmacology to pass the exam but to be able to integrate it into clinical practice. Audience response technology (ART), such as the KeePad system (KS) has been shown to promote an active approach to learning and provide instant formative feedback. The aim of this project, therefore, was to incorporate and evaluate the use the KS in promoting pharmacology understanding in NMP students. Methods: Questions were incorporated into eight pharmacology lectures, comprising a mix of basic and clinical pharmacology, using TurningPoint software. Student (n = 33) responses to questions were recorded using the KS software and the percentage of students getting the question incorrect and correct was made immediately available in the lecture in graphical form. Survey data collected from these students investigated student perceptions on the use of the system generally and specifically as a learning tool. More in depth discussion of the usefulness of the KS was derived from a focus group comprising 5 students. Results: 100% of students enjoyed using the KS and felt it promoted their understanding of ke