Non-virtual simulation training in pharmacy education: Perspectives of a scoping review

Introduction: context and hypothesis/aims
In pharmacy education, simulation training has been shown to improve non-technical skills (such as patient
communication and interprofessional collaboration) and patient safety in pharmacy education by enhancing healthcare
knowledge, and interprofessional collaboration. These training programs are vital for pharmacy students to teach them
how to establish therapeutic and interprofessional relationships with patients and healthcare providers.
The objective of this scoping review was to examine not only the simulation training activities currently available to
pharmacy students but also their effectiveness, and then to identify areas in non-technical skills that still need to be
taught.
The aim of this paper is to present the published results of this scoping review as well as to illustrate the perspectives
and promising fields of application in the creation of new simulation activities for pharmacy students based on the gaps
highlighted in the literature.
Methods and results: description of the methods used/study design/data collection. Presentation of the results
addressing the study hypothesis/aims
A scoping review was carried out for two key concepts: “simulation training” and “pharmacy students” and focused on
simulations between students: Virtual simulation was an exclusion criterion. An initial search of the three bibliographic
databases Scopus (via Elsevier), MEDLINE and ERIC (via Ovid) was initiated on June 6, 2020. Articles were searched
for in both English and French languages. A second search was carried out on February 25, 2022. The Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR)
guided the review. A total of 812 papers were identified from the initial research and 397 were selected for full text
screening with 140 papers matching the inclusion criteria subsequently identified. The results showed two simulation
modalities: simulated patient modality and hybrid modality. Interprofessional simulation took place in hybrid modality.
Simulation training in patient communication, medication counseling and interprofessional education was seen to have
most impact on students.
Discussion of the impact/outcome, and novelty of the Research
Simulation training was found to be an efficient method of teaching non-technical skills such as communication,
medication counselling and interprofessional collaboration for patient-centred care and interprofessional exchanges in
pharmacy education programs.
Three activities will be described to illustrate the promising prospects of these fields of application: (1) vaccine hesitancy
simulation illustrating patient communication, (2) experiential learning from authentic pharmaceutical interviews about
medication counseling and (3) VET&PHARM simulation highlighting interprofessional pharmacist-veterinarian
collaboration.