JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Appropriate antithrombotic drug use is crucial knowledge to be acquired by pharmacy students.

Objective:

In order to increase their engagement with a dedicated case-study course, we sought to compare the inverted classroom-like (ICL) approach to a traditional educational approach.

Methods:

Third-year PharmD students from Paris Cité University were randomly assigned to control (n=171) and ICL (n=175) groups. The latter were instructed to read and prepare the pre-provided course material one week prior the in-class session to assume the instructor role on the D-Day, whereas students of the control group attended a didactic traditional case-study course carried out by the same instructor. All students completed pre- and post-test multiple-choice questions surveys assessing their knowledge levels as well as stress, empathy and satisfaction questionnaires.

Results:

A significant higher participation rate was observed in the control group (54%) compared to the ICL group (37%, p=0.002). Women (52%) participated more than men (36%, p=0.002) whatever the group was. Students’ knowledge score from both groups had similar results (p=0.376) with no difference neither in the pre-score nor in the short-term knowledge retention. ICL approach did not induce any excess of stress and did not enhance students’ empathy for the instructor. It increased the pre-class workload (p=0.022) and was not well received among students.

Conclusions:

This study showed that traditional educational approach remains an efficient method for case-study courses in the early stages (i.e., third-year) of the 6-year PharmD curriculum, yet dynamic methods improving the active role of students in the learning process are still needed.