RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Using Hand Signs to Teach HIV Medications
JF American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
JO Am J Pharm Educ
FD American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
SP 6292
DO 10.5688/ajpe6292
VO 82
IS 1
A1 Spencer, Catherine
A1 Bandy, Kathryn
YR 2018
UL http://www.ajpe.org/content/82/1/6292.abstract
AB Objective. To describe an innovative active learning strategy that uses students’ hands to facilitate learning and retention of major concepts related to nucleotide/nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs).Methods. Students wrote the names of the NRTIs on their fingers, then an interactive activity used a variety of hand signs to teach the drugs. Focus groups were conducted with a total of 20 students one year after being exposed to the new teaching strategy. Students were asked five knowledge-based questions related to the subject matter to assess retention of the material.Results. On average, students answered 64% of the questions correctly. Most students (95%) used their hands to answer the knowledge-based questions. There was a statistically significant association between using hands to answer the question and answering the question correctly. When asked which active learning method was most effective, 14 (70%) participants reported “hands.”Conclusion. Using students’ hands was well received by this cohort of students. More research is needed to determine if this active learning method could be considered for use in other disease states to help students learn complex medications with many nuances.