Development of a teaching module for parenteral drug administration and objective structured practical examination stations in pharmacology

OBJECTIVES: Safe parenteral drug administration includes preparation of safe medication for administration. Training medical students is crucial to minimize medication administration errors. The study aims to develop a module to teach drug preparation skills and to develop objective structured practical examination (OSPE) stations to assess these skills. Students’ perceptions regarding the module were also assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A module was developed to teach following skills to 2(nd) year medical students: Aspiration of a drug from the ampule, aspiration of the drug from the vial, aspiration of the drug in powdered form from vial (reconstitution), and setting up an intravenous (IV) infusion. A randomized case control study design was used to establish the validity of OSPE stations. Student volunteers were grouped into case (n = 20) and control groups (n = 20) by simple randomization. The test group watched videos of skills and received demonstration of skills and a practice session before OSPE, whereas the control group watched videos before the OSPE and received demonstration and a practice session only after the OSPE. Each student was assessed by two faculty members during OSPE using a validated checklist. Mean OSPE scores of control and test groups were compared using independent samples t-test. Interrater reliability and concurrent validity of stations were analyzed using interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Pearson correlation, respectively. Students’ responses were expressed as median and interquartile range. RESULTS: The response rate in the questionnaire was 100%. Significant difference between mean scores (P < 0.05) of test and control groups revealed fulfillment of construct validity of OSPE stations. Interrater reliability (ICC > 0.7) and concurrent validity (r value > 7) of all the stations was high. Perceptions revealed acceptability of module and OSPE stations by students (median 4, scale 1-5). CONCLUSIONS: A module to teach drug preparation skills was developed and along with valid and reliable OSPE stations that were acceptable to students. The study demonstrated that students acquire better skills through teaching than merely watching these skills in videos.