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A “Virtual Pharmacy Shelf” to Enhance the Rigor and Efficiency of Standardized-Patient OSCEs for Over-the-Counter Medication Advice

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Abstract

Background

Realistic simulation in health professional education can be costly or cumbersome.

Activity

A low-cost, tablet-based simulated “virtual shelf” of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, hyperlinked to Drug Facts labels, eliminated use of physical product boxes or printed drug lists in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) for Doctor of Pharmacy students learning to provide OTC advice.

Results and Discussion

The application reduced instructor preparation and OSCE administration time by allowing students to tap product options instead of thumbing through medication lists. The shelf is realistic, easily updated, and transferable to other OSCEs when visual recognition is important or treatment options change frequently.

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Fig. 1

Availability of Data and Material

Data availability is not applicable. Images used in developing the virtual pharmacy shelf are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale, Glendale, AZ, USA

    Stephanie Counts & Kathleen A. Fairman

Authors
  1. Stephanie Counts
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  2. Kathleen A. Fairman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie Counts.

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Ethics Approval

N/A, because the manuscript describes an organizational process change and not research involving human subjects. Institutional Review Board approval was not sought.

Informed Consent

N/A, because the manuscript describes an organizational process change, not research involving human subjects; informed consent was not sought.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Counts, S., Fairman, K.A. A “Virtual Pharmacy Shelf” to Enhance the Rigor and Efficiency of Standardized-Patient OSCEs for Over-the-Counter Medication Advice. Med.Sci.Educ. 32, 63–67 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01494-6

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