Open AccessUse of a real-time virtual patient simulation for interprofessional distance education: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Paul Burmeister,
Gabrielle Isaacs,
Bronwen Griffiths,
Lanxinning Mo,
Jordan Chin,
Cate McCall,
Stephen B. Duffull
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pharmacy education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.198
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1477-2701
pISSN - 1560-2214
DOI - 10.46542/pe.2021.211.698704
Subject(s) - cloud computing , pharmacy , virtual patient , thematic analysis , interprofessional education , relevance (law) , medical education , core (optical fiber) , core competency , computer science , nursing , psychology , medicine , health care , sociology , business , qualitative research , operating system , telecommunications , social science , marketing , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Objective: To evaluate the use of cloud-based virtual patients as a tool for engagement in interprofessional distance education (IPDE).Methods: Five pairs of final-year pharmacy and final-year nursing students interacted with an autonomous, real-time, cloud-based virtual patient (VP). They were debriefed after completion of their case and completed a questionnaire on the relevance of the VP to core IPE competencies.Results: The virtual patient approach was considered to be able to cover 25 of the 39 core IPE competencies. From a thematic analysis, there was evidence of students learning from, with, and about each other.Conclusions: The use of cloud-based autonomous VPs could be a successful tool for IPE.