Abstract

*Anupriya Jain, Anshul Sen, Ankita Thakur, Avdhesh Singh Lodhi and Harshita Jain

ABSTRACT

The use of simulation and related technology in healthcare education will continue to increase in the coming years and there is a collective role for this technique within pharmacy curricula. It is anticipated that increasing the amount of simulation in pharmacy curricula will have a positive impact on education and training of pharmacy students, and ultimately produce positive benefits for patients and the healthcare team. Simulation-based education (SBE) is a fundamental teaching method that complements traditional teaching modalities. SBE has improved students? knowledge, understanding, and numerous essential skills within undergraduate pharmacy education, similar to traditional teaching methods. However, SBE has become crucial for developing students? teamwork, decision-making, and communication skills. Even though the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) has acknowledged the benefit of SBE in interprofessional education (IPE) and the introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE). The apparent objective of introducing simulation techniques into the training program for pharmacy students is to advance the education and training of pharmacists with the ultimate objective of improving patient care and safety. Simulation experiences could never substitute experiences in real clinical settings, but has a great potential to complement clinical education as well as to use as a provision to develop skills required for a competent pharmacist. In addition to the development of technical skills such as procedural and clinical skills, simulation techniques have been used in pharmacy education in addressing general cognitive and social skills, notably in communication, decision-making, ethical issues, prioritization and teamwork. Pharmacy programs which aim to provide an opportunity for theoretical knowledge to be applied to a real clinical setting, simulated learning environments could enable a more systematic approach to both the training of clinical skills. Simulation provides a consistent, predictable experience to basic sciences, dispensing and medication supply. Ideally, it was recognized that simulation training should be integrated across all levels of pharmacy education and training