Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Articles
    • Current
    • Early Release
    • Archive
    • Rufus A. Lyman Award
    • Theme Issues
    • Special Collections
  • Authors
    • Author Instructions
    • Submission Process
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Call for Papers - Intersectionality of Pharmacists’ Professional and Personal Identity
  • Reviewers
    • Reviewer Instructions
    • Call for Mentees
    • Reviewer Recognition
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • About
    • About AJPE
    • Editorial Team
    • Editorial Board
    • History
  • More
    • Meet the Editors
    • Webinars
    • Contact AJPE
  • Other Publications

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
  • Other Publications
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Advanced Search

  • Articles
    • Current
    • Early Release
    • Archive
    • Rufus A. Lyman Award
    • Theme Issues
    • Special Collections
  • Authors
    • Author Instructions
    • Submission Process
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Call for Papers - Intersectionality of Pharmacists’ Professional and Personal Identity
  • Reviewers
    • Reviewer Instructions
    • Call for Mentees
    • Reviewer Recognition
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • About
    • About AJPE
    • Editorial Team
    • Editorial Board
    • History
  • More
    • Meet the Editors
    • Webinars
    • Contact AJPE
  • Follow AJPE on Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Research ArticleReviews

Virtual Patients in Pharmacy Education

Monique O. Jabbur-Lopes, Alessandra R. Mesquita, Leila M. A. Silva, Abilio De Almeida Neto and Divaldo P. Lyra
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education June 2012, 76 (5) 92; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe76592
Monique O. Jabbur-Lopes
aCollege of Pharmacy, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alessandra R. Mesquita
aCollege of Pharmacy, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Leila M. A. Silva
bDepartment of Computing Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Abilio De Almeida Neto
aCollege of Pharmacy, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil
cFaculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Divaldo P. Lyra Jr
aCollege of Pharmacy, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

A review of the literature relating to the use of virtual patients in teaching pharmaceutical care to pharmacy students was conducted. Only 7 articles met the inclusion criteria for the review and 4 of the studies were conducted in North America. Few articles identified by the review used virtual patient technology that was true-to-life and/or validated.

Keywords
  • virtual patient
  • pharmaceutical care
  • systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Pharmacists’ ability to communicate effectively with patients is paramount in the prevention and management of drug-therapy problems.1-3 The effective delivery of pharmaceutical care interventions requires not only sound clinical knowledge of medication, but also good communication skills to interact with patients and review their medication needs and use. Over a decade ago, the World Health Organization identified the ability to communicate effectively as a skill pharmacists must possess in support of their role,4 prompting pharmacy colleges and schools around the world to introduce communication skills as an integral part of the pharmacy curriculum. In contrast, most colleges and schools of Pharmacy in Brazil are yet to implement communication skills in their curricula, despite that the National Guidelines for Undergraduate Education in Pharmacy have included formal training in communication skills as an integral part of the pharmacy curriculum.5

In developed countries, recognition of the value of pharmacy in the prevention and management of drug-therapy problems has led to demonstrable efforts made by pharmacy colleges and schools to teach effective communication skills to students. Curriculum changes have incorporated training in communication skills, including the introduction of theoretical-practical disciplines, as well as the establishment of practice laboratories.6-9 Additionally, different methods of teaching communication skills to pharmacy students have been developed, including face-to-face, telephone, and e-mail interviews; analysis of audio and video tapes; and simulated patient methods in which actors played the role of patients or actual patients who were coached to present specific scenarios to pharmacists in order to teach and evaluate their patient assessment and interview skills.10-14

Over the last decade, use of virtual patient technology—from computer-based virtual reality programs to full-size lifelike simulators— emerged as a new method of training health care providers in clinical and communication skills. In pharmacy education, the virtual patient is a simulated patient, typically generated by a computer software program, and used to simulate realistic clinical scenarios.15 Teaching methods using virtual patient technology in health care education allow students to adopt the role of a health care provider in a safe environment where they can develop clinical and communication skills, such as patient assessment, interview skills, and information provision, without compromising the welfare of an actual patient. This can be achieved through the use of a range of virtual clinical scenarios applied to individual case-based assignments.16 Typically, students interact with a virtual patient, and during the process of assessment, propose some health care intervention, which is then recorded to complete the case. As computer-generated virtual patients are available on demand, students are able to practice their clinical and communication skills at any time.

An advantage of using virtual patients in the teaching of medication counseling compared to traditional teaching methods is the ability of the virtual patient to emulate the psychological state of the different types of patients that pharmacists encounter in the practice of pharmacy (eg, angry, anxious, ambivalent, passive, assertive, and persuasive).7 This not only allows future pharmacists to build realistic expectations of pharmacy practice, but also enhances trainees’ confidence in their medication-counseling skills, increasing their sense of self-efficacy in dealing with all types of patients.17

Virtual patient technology also can be used to assess student skills. Hubal and colleagues14 argue that the use of case studies involving any of the 3 types of patients (real, simulated, virtual) is the optimal way of assessing critical-thinking skills in students, compared to paper-based case studies. At least 94 medical schools in the United States and Canada use virtual simulated patients in their teaching programs, and 26 medical schools in the United States cooperate in resource sharing, standard setting, and other issues relevant to implementing effective simulated-patient programs.14 In addition, several interactive virtual patients software programs have been developed during the last 10 to 15 years.16 In pharmacy, the first study in which virtual patient technology was reported was published in the early 1990s.17 There are only a paucity of published studies in the area.

The standardized nature of virtual patient simulations also increases the validity of assessments, as each scenario is relatively consistent.15 The use of virtual patient technology allows students to develop their competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in providing care to patients.18 Therefore, it is important to use techniques such as virtual patient technology in teaching pharmacotherapy and pharmacist-patient communication skills, as virtual patients allow students to experience true-to-life situations and the knowledge and skills developed through these experiences have the long-term potential to optimize patient care. The aim of the current paper is to review the literature on the use of virtual patient technology in the teaching of pharmaceutical care to pharmacy students.

LITERATURE SEARCH

A search was conducted of the following electronic databases: EBSCO, Embase, Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (LILACS), Pubmed/Medline, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), and Scopus. The following combinations of search terms were used: virtual patient and pharmacist, virtual patient and pharmacy, and virtual patient and medication.

To study the literature on the use of virtual patients in pharmacy, we retrieved articles from all 6 databases that met the following criteria: original articles and reviews from experts, published from January 1960 to December 2009 in the English language, where virtual patients were used in the teaching of competencies (skills, knowledge, and attitudes) related to pharmacist-patient interactions. We excluded studies in which the use of virtual patients occurred outside the discipline of pharmacy.

Abstracts resulting from the initial online search were manually screened for relevance and eligibility for full-text retrieval. Articles indexed in 2 or more databases were considered only once.

The following categories of data were extracted from selected articles: (1) setting where virtual patients were used; (2) scenario of the virtual consultation (outpatient, community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy); (3) number of students who used the virtual patient tool; (4) year of the students’ degree; (5) student satisfaction with the virtual patient tool; (6) competencies assessed; (7) role of instructors; (8) program development; and (9) limitations.

FINDINGS

The literature search generated 72 articles using the terms virtual patient and pharmacy, 10 articles with the terms virtual patient and pharmacist, and 157 articles with the terms virtual patient and medication. Of these studies, only 7 met the inclusion criteria, and these 7 formed the study sample.

Table 1 shows the distribution of articles by database. All 7 articles selected were indexed in the Scopus database; 5 of them were indexed concurrently in Embase, 4 in LILACS, 3 in Medline, and 2 in the EBSCO database. None of the 7 was found in the SciELO database. Most excluded articles were indexed in the LILACS database.

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
  • Download powerpoint
Table 1.

Progress Through the Stages of a Literature Search on Virtual Patient Technology

Of the studies in the final sample, 4 were conducted in North America,16-19 2 were conducted in Australia;16,20 and 1 in Europe21 (Table 2). None of the studies that met the inclusion criteria was conducted in Latin America, Africa, or Asia.

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
  • Download powerpoint
Table 2.

Characteristics of the Study Sample Related to the Use of Virtual Patient Methods from 1960 to 2009

All 7 studies were related to the teaching of pharmacy practice in the educational setting, with 1 study being multidisciplinary,21 covering the disciplines of pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry. The study reported by Marriot20 simply described the development and implementation of a computer software program for producing virtual patients, with a later study complementing this initial one by addressing the use and application of the tool by pharmacy students.15

The majority of virtual patient tools used standardized clinical cases involving chronic illness and reflected true-to-life professional practice scenarios simulating patient care in the community,17 outpatient setting,18 and hospital pharmacy.19 Four of the 7 studies did not state the location of patient care. However, 4 of the 7 articles described the clinical scenarios used.15,16,20,21

Regarding the reported number of students who used the virtual patient tool, sample sizes ranged from 3419 to 212 students.15 Virtual patients were typically used to teach students through the third year of the pharmacy curriculum.15,19

Evaluation of teaching methods using virtual patient technology was typically conducted by providing participating students with questionnaires to determine their satisfaction with the virtual patient experience, the program’s perceived value, and usability of the virtual patient tools (Appendix 1). Student assessment of the use of virtual patient technology took place in computer laboratories and at universities,19 via the Web,15,17,20,21 e-mail,18 and within computer programs.16,17 In one study, students assessed their patients from their computer at home by logging into the virtual patient database page on the college’s Web site.17 In addition, the studies assessed students’ competencies in pharmaceutical care interventions and in learning, and their ability to solve clinical cases.15-19,21 In all 7 studies, students reported a high degree of satisfaction with the virtual patient exercise and found it to be stimulating, innovative, and highly applicable to the practice of pharmacy.

Five of the reviewed studies used preceptors during the exercise to answer students’ questions regarding the virtual patient environment, including how to access sources of information necessary for solving clinical cases. Preceptors also evaluated student responses and collected feedback.15-19 The other 2 studies did not include preceptors.16,21

The reviewed studies differed in the reporting of limitations:18-20 some studies did not mention limitations16,17or reported having no limitations.21 Hussein and Kawahara reported that dependency on telephones for communication and having too few telephone lines available were limitations.19 Marriott reported limitations resulting from the small number of standardized patients and clinical scenarios from which to choose.20

DISCUSSION

Most of the 7 studies reviewed here that involved use of virtual patients were carried out in the United States, reflecting the pioneering of this country in relation to virtual patient methods in the teaching of pharmacy, with studies dating back to the late 1990s.22 Since completion of this literature review in December 2009, additional US studies have been published.23-26 The next step would be for these methods to be disseminated to a greater number of countries and for formal evaluation studies to be conducted, which may assist in the development of essential competencies in pharmacy students.

Virtual patient studies that used chronic disease scenarios may have assisted students in understanding the clinical aspects of risk-management and continuity of care. The health care literature emphasizes the importance of health care students, including pharmacy students, undergoing specific training using a technological approach, such as using virtual patient software programs, to ensure the provision of high quality care to patients with chronic disease.21,23,27-31 Therefore, the introduction of virtual patients to pharmacy education can potentially offer an effective method for teaching students, posing a challenge to current pharmacy educators to master and adopt these methods.

The studies demonstrated how using virtual patients impacted the clinical and communication skills of the students in their study samples, but most were not able to generalize their results beyond their sample.25,32 There is a need for more studies on the use of virtual patient technology to be conducted using a broader population of pharmacy students to validate its use as an effective teaching tool.

In the 7 studies reviewed, virtual patients were used in the teaching pharmaceutical care from the first year of an undergraduate pharmacy degree program to the third year of a doctor of pharmacy degree program.15-21 The use of computer technology in pharmacy education is broad and used in disciplines other than pharmacy practice, such as pharmacokinetics, dispensing, calculations, and clinical therapeutics.28-31,33 Similarly, the use of virtual patients can be broadened to encompass all aspects of pharmacy training, becoming an essential tool in pharmacy education and an integral part of student assessment.

With the worldwide increase in the adoption of pharmaceutical care practices, satisfaction with virtual patient methods in the area is an important performance indicator of educational program effectiveness. Therefore, assessment of student satisfaction with the use of virtual patients is necessary to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to improve virtual patient teaching methods.34 Students in the 7 studies found that virtual patients were an interactive and dynamic tool that assisted them in understanding disease states and managing drug therapy regimens, and that allowed them to apply what they had learned in classroom lectures to realistic situations.15-21 These findings corroborate those of Benedict and colleagues, who reported that the simulations in which virtual patients were used strongly supported by students and were effective teaching tools when used to supplement more traditional instructional formats (eg, lectures).34 Therefore, in designing future studies, researchers should consider the assessment of student satisfaction with virtual patient tools as a measurement that will lead to the expanded use of virtual patients in the teaching of pharmaceutical care.

This review found that there is a paucity of studies involving virtual patients, suggesting an under use of these methods in pharmaceutical education. Health care education is going through fundamental changes in relation to students’ skills and approaches to learning. In schools of medicine, virtual educational tools have been widely used and are considered important resources for teaching clinical skills31 (diagnostic and treatment) and communication skills.35,36 This training method is also commonly implemented in other health care professions education, including nursing37 and dentistry.38 Our findings suggest that pharmacy as a discipline may be lagging behind other health care disciplines in the use of virtual patient technology for teaching students clinical and communication skills. Pharmacy educators do not appear to be capitalizing on the congruence between computerized virtual patient approaches to teaching and the level of comfort graduate students have with virtual technology.

Semeraro and colleagues39 emphasized the importance of preceptors in familiarizing students with the use of virtual patient scenarios to practice and improve their clinical knowledge and communication skills. Some of the studies reported that preceptors assisted students in the patient decision-making process within the virtual clinical scenario.19 In addition, preceptors provided feedback on students’ performance during virtual counseling sessions and the strengths and weaknesses of using virtual patient technology to teach students.15,18 However, none of the studies in the review assessed whether the preceptors’ input had any influence on how well students performed in the virtual scenarios. Future studies should assess whether preceptors influence student outcomes when using virtual patient technology.

Two reviews found that there is a number of technologies that can be used in the teaching of clinical competencies, including telephone, e-mail, analysis of audio and video tapes, and Web pages, as well as computer software.10,11 Advantages of Internet-based virtual patient programs include their portability and realism.19 Limitations of virtual patient programs in pharmacy include the limited number of computer animations and interactions scenarios available.18,20 More sophisticated graphics and multimedia (sound, animation, text, and avatars of patients) need to be created to enhance human interactions with virtual patients and learning.

Despite the many advantages of using virtual patient technology in pharmacy education, a significant limitation identified in this review was the lack of virtual patients seeming true to life and the inability of virtual patients to provide additional unscripted information in response to students’ questions.15-21 Also, some pharmacy students did not focus on their verbal communication skills when interacting with virtual patients. Also, using virtual patients in patient encounters did not afford students practice in interpreting patients’ nonverbal communication.18 Moreover, the 7 studies did not assess the reliability of knowledge and skills acquired through use of virtual patient technology. Pharmacy educators must remember that virtual patient technology has yet to be validated as an effective learning tool for teaching pharmaceutical care.

This review is not without limitations. Only the keywords virtual patient, pharmacist, pharmacy, and medication were used. The use of other relevant key terms, such as pharmaceutical education and pharmaceutical teaching, did not lead to different results. Investigators did not search the International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases, which index specific journals that are not included in any other database. Consequently, some studies that would have met inclusion criteria may have been left out of the review.

CONCLUSION

Virtual patient technology has the potential to be an innovative and effective educational tool in pharmacy education, particularly for optimizing the teaching of pharmaceutical care. There are few published articles in the area and few validated virtual patient tools. Also, there are few virtual patient scenarios involving chronic diseases; lack of variability in the level of complexity of virtual patient scenarios; and lack of understanding of the influence preceptors have on students’ learning from virtual patient technology.

More resources need to be invested in the development of realistic, virtual patient technology specifically for teaching pharmacy at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Also, the technology needs to be tested in various countries to allow for internal and external validation of the programs as effective teaching tools.

Appendix 1. Characteristics of the Virtual Tools and Student Performance Were Analyzed From 1960 to 2009

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
  • Download powerpoint
Appendix 1.
  • Received October 22, 2011.
  • Accepted December 23, 2011.
  • © 2012 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

REFERENCES

  1. 1.↵
    1. Berger K,
    2. Eickhoff C,
    3. Schulz M
    . Counselling quality in community pharmacies: implementation of the pseudo customer methodology in Germany. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2005;30(1):45-57.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  2. 2.↵
    1. Lyra Jr. DP,
    2. Rocha CE,
    3. Abriata JP,
    4. Gimenes FRE,
    5. Gonzalez MM,
    6. Pelá IR
    . Influence of pharmaceutical care intervention and communication skills on the improvement of pharmacotherapeutic outcomes with elderly Brazilian outpatients. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2007;3:989-998.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  3. 3.↵
    1. Mackellar A,
    2. Ashcroft DM,
    3. Bell D,
    4. James DH,
    5. Marriott J
    . Identifying criteria for the assessment of pharmacy students’ communication skills with patients. Am J Pharm Educ. 2007;71(3):Article 50.
    OpenUrl
  4. 4.↵
    WHO, World Health Organization. The role of the pharmacist in the healthcare system: preparing the future pharmacist, curricular development: WHO/PHARM/97. Report of a WHO Consultive, Vancouver, Canada, 27-29 August, 1997.
  5. 5.↵
    CNE. Conselho Nacional de Educação. Diretrizes Nacionais para o Ensino da Graduação em Farmácia de 2002 (National Guidance for the Undergraduate Teaching of Pharmacy, Brazil 2002). Diário Oficial da União: Brasília, Seção 1, p. 9.
  6. 6.↵
    1. Almeida Neto AC,
    2. Benrimoj SI,
    3. Kavanagh DJ,
    4. Boakes RA
    . Novel educational training program for community pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ. 2000;64(3):302-307.
    OpenUrl
  7. 7.↵
    1. Chereson RS,
    2. Bilger R,
    3. Mohr S,
    4. Wuller C
    . Design of a Pharmaceutical Care laboratory: A survey of practitioners. Am J Pharm Educ. 2005;69(1):19-24.
    OpenUrl
  8. 8.↵
    1. Lust E,
    2. Moore FC
    . Emotional intelligence instruction in a pharmacy communications course. Am J Pharm Educ. 2006;70(1):Article 6.
    OpenUrl
  9. 9.↵
    1. Gallimore C,
    2. George AK,
    3. Brown MC
    . Pharmacy students’ preferences for various types of simulated patients. Am J Pharm Educ. 2008;72(1):Article 4.
    OpenUrl
  10. 10.↵
    1. Mesquita AR,
    2. Lyra Jr. DP,
    3. Brito GC,
    4. Balisa-Rocha BJ,
    5. Aguiar PM,
    6. de Almeida Neto AC
    . Developing communication skills in pharmacy: a systematic review of the use of simulated patient methods. Patient Educ Couns. 2010;78(2):143-148.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  11. 11.↵
    1. Shah B,
    2. Chewning B
    . Conceptualizing and measuring pharmacist-patient communication: a review of published studies. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2006;2(2):153-185.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  12. 12.↵
    1. James D,
    2. Nastasic S,
    3. Horne R,
    4. Davies G
    . The design and evaluation of a simulated-patient teaching programme to develop the consultation skills of undergraduate pharmacy students. Pharm World Sci. 2001;23(6):212-216.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  13. 13.↵
    1. Austin Z,
    2. Gregory P,
    3. Tabak D
    . Simulated patients vs. standardized patients in objective structured clinical examinations. Am J Pharm Educ. 2006;70(5):119.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  14. 14.↵
    1. Hubal RC,
    2. Kizakevich PN,
    3. Guinn CI,
    4. Merino KD,
    5. West SL
    . The virtual standardized patient: simulated patient-practitioner dialog for patient interview training. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2000;70:133-138.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  15. 15.↵
    1. Marriot JL
    . Use and evaluation of “virtual” patients for assessment of clinical pharmacy undergraduates. Pharm Educ. 2007;7(4):341-349.
    OpenUrl
  16. 16.↵
    1. Villaume WA,
    2. Berger BA,
    3. Barker BN
    . Learning motivational interviewing: scripting a virtual patient. Am J Pharm Educ. 2006;70(2):Article 33.
    OpenUrl
  17. 17.↵
    1. Fuhrman Jr. LC,
    2. Buff WE,
    3. Eaddy M,
    4. Dollar M
    . Utilization of an integrated interactive virtual patient database in a web-based environment for teaching continuity of care. Am J Pharm Educ. 2001;65(3):271-275.
    OpenUrl
  18. 18.↵
    1. Orr KK
    . Integrating virtual patients into a self-care course. Am J Pharm Educ. 2007;71(2):Article 30.
    OpenUrl
  19. 19.↵
    1. Hussein G,
    2. Kawahara N
    . Adaptive and longitudinal pharmaceutical care instruction using an interactive voice response/text-to-speech system. Am J Pharm Educ. 2006;70(2):Article 35.
    OpenUrl
  20. 20.↵
    1. Marriot JL
    . Development and implementation of a computer-generated “virtual” patient program. Pharm Educ. 2007;7(4):335-340.
    OpenUrl
  21. 21.↵
    1. Zary N,
    2. Johnson G,
    3. Boberg J,
    4. Fors UG
    . Development, implementation and pilot evaluation of a Web-based virtual patient case simulation environment – Web-SP. BMC Med Educ. 2006;6:1-10.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  22. 22.↵
    1. Sherouse GW,
    2. Chaney EL
    . The portable virtual simulator. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1991;21(2):475-482.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  23. 23.↵
    1. Benedict N
    . Virtual patients and problem-based learning in advanced therapeutics. Am J Pharm Educ. 2010;74(8):Article 143.
    OpenUrl
  24. 24.↵
    1. Ricciotti HA,
    2. Hacker MR,
    3. De Flesco LD,
    4. Dodge LE,
    5. Huang GC
    . Randomized, controlled trial of a normal pregnancy virtual patient to teach medical students counseling skills. J Reprod Med. 2010;55(11-12):498-502.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  25. 25.↵
    1. Heinrichs WL,
    2. Youngblood P,
    3. Harter P,
    4. Kusumoto L,
    5. Dev P
    . Training healthcare personnel for mass-casualty incidents in a virtual emergency department: VED II. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2010;25(5):424-432.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  26. 26.↵
    1. Benedict N,
    2. Schonder K
    . Patient simulation software to augment an advanced pharmaceutics course. Am J Phar Educ. 2011;75(2):Article 21.
    OpenUrl
  27. 27.↵
    1. Loke SK,
    2. Tordoff J,
    3. Winikoff M,
    4. McDonald J,
    5. Vlugter P,
    6. Duffull S
    . SimPharm: How pharmacy students made meaning of a clinical case differently in paper- and simulation-based workshops. Br J Educ Tech. 2010;42(5):1-10.
    OpenUrl
  28. 28.↵
    1. Hayton WL,
    2. Collins PL
    . STELLA: Simulation software for pharmokinetic software. Am J Pharm Educ. 1991;55:131-134.
    OpenUrl
  29. 29.↵
    1. Ramanathan M,
    2. Chau RI,
    3. Straubinger RM
    . Integration of Internet-based technologies as a learning tool in a pharmaceutical calulations course. Am J Pharm Educ. 1997;61(2):141-148.
    OpenUrl
  30. 30.↵
    1. Thompson JE
    . Development and use of an interactive database management system for simulated patient care experiences for pharmacy students. Am J Pharm Educ. 1994;58(3):324-332.
    OpenUrl
  31. 31.↵
    1. Chisholm MA,
    2. Dehoney J,
    3. Poirier S
    . Development and evaluation of a computer assisted instructional program in an advanced pharmacotherapeutics course. Am J Pharm Educ. 1996;60(4):365-369.
    OpenUrl
  32. 32.↵
    1. Triola M,
    2. Feldman H,
    3. Kalet AL,
    4. Zabar S,
    5. Kachur EK,
    6. Gillespie C,
    7. Anderson M,
    8. Griesser C,
    9. Lipkin M
    . A Randomized trial of teaching clinical skills using virtual and live standardized patients. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21(5):424-429.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  33. 33.↵
    1. Mestrovic A,
    2. Stanicic Z,
    3. Hadziabdic MO,
    4. Mucalo I,
    5. Bates I,
    6. Duggan C,
    7. Carter S,
    8. Bruno A
    . Evaluation of Croatian community pharmacists’ patient care competencies using the general level framework. Am J Pharm Educ. 2011;75(2):Article 36.
    OpenUrl
  34. 34.↵
    BC College & Institute Student outcomes. Understanding student satisfaction. Issue paper 2003;3:1-4. http://admin.selkirk.bc.ca/research/documents/issue_satisfaction%5B1%5D.pdf. Accessed March 24, 2012.
  35. 35.↵
    1. Stevens A,
    2. Hernandez J,
    3. Johnsen K,
    4. et al
    . The use of virtual patients to teach medical students history taking and communication skills. Am J Surg. 2006;191:806-811.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  36. 36.↵
    1. Deladisma AM,
    2. Johnsen K,
    3. Raij A,
    4. et al
    . Medical student satisfaction using a virtual patient system to learn history-taking communication skills. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2008;132:101-105.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  37. 37.↵
    1. Effken JA,
    2. Brewer BB,
    3. Patil A,
    4. Lamb GS,
    5. Verran JA,
    6. Carley K
    . Using OrgAhead, a computational modeling program, to improve patient care unit safety and quality outcomes. Int J Med Inform. 2005;74(7-8):605-613.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  38. 38.↵
    1. Sanders C,
    2. Kleinert HL,
    3. Boyd SE,
    4. Herren C,
    5. Theiss L,
    6. Mink J
    . Virtual patient instruction for dental students: can it improve dental care access for persons with special needs?. Spec Care in Dentist. 2008;28(5):205-213.
    OpenUrl
  39. 39.↵
    1. Semeraro F,
    2. Frisoli A,
    3. Bergamasco M,
    4. Cerchiari EL
    . Virtual reality enhanced mannequin (VREM) that is well received by resuscitation experts. Resuscitation. 2009;80(4):489-492.
    OpenUrlPubMed
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Vol. 76, Issue 5
18 Jun 2012
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Virtual Patients in Pharmacy Education
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
9 + 3 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Virtual Patients in Pharmacy Education
Monique O. Jabbur-Lopes, Alessandra R. Mesquita, Leila M. A. Silva, Abilio De Almeida Neto, Divaldo P. Lyra
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Jun 2012, 76 (5) 92; DOI: 10.5688/ajpe76592

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Virtual Patients in Pharmacy Education
Monique O. Jabbur-Lopes, Alessandra R. Mesquita, Leila M. A. Silva, Abilio De Almeida Neto, Divaldo P. Lyra
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Jun 2012, 76 (5) 92; DOI: 10.5688/ajpe76592
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • LITERATURE SEARCH
    • FINDINGS
    • DISCUSSION
    • CONCLUSION
    • Appendix 1. Characteristics of the Virtual Tools and Student Performance Were Analyzed From 1960 to 2009
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Similar AJPE Articles

Cited By...

  • Virtual patient technology to educate pharmacists and pharmacy students on patient communication: a systematic review
  • Virtual patient educational programme to teach counselling to clinical pharmacists: development and proof of concept
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • The Course Syllabus: Legal Contract or Operator’s Manual?
  • Canadian Educational Approaches for the Advancement of Pharmacy Practice
  • The Fact of Ignorance
    Revisiting the Socratic Method as a Tool for Teaching Critical Thinking
Show more Reviews

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Keywords

  • virtual patient
  • pharmaceutical care
  • systematic review

Home

  • AACP
  • AJPE

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Early Release
  • Archive

Instructions

  • Author Instructions
  • Submission Process
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Reviewer Instructions

About

  • AJPE
  • Editorial Team
  • Editorial Board
  • History
  • Contact

© 2023 American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Powered by HighWire