The role of active learning methods in teaching pharmaceutical care – Scoping review

BACKGROUND: The pharmacists in a community pharmacies have already provided, or will provide in the near future advanced pharmaceutical care services. This requires modifying the approach to teaching pharmacy students as well as adapting the curriculum to the changing professional realities. It has been proven that in the field of medical and related sciences, learners-centered active teaching methods allow to achieve learning outcomes effectively, especially in the field of practical skills. OBJECTIVES: As the pharmaceutical services are only being introduced in many European countries, the question arises as to what active learning methods to use to prepare pharmacy graduates for this. Thus the review of worldwide literature occurred to be helpful in identifying what active learning methods are being used specifically in teaching aspects of pharmaceutical care. METHODS: Three electronic databases: Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched using the keywords “active learning” and “pharmaceutical care”. RESULTS: On the basis of the publications included in the review, 7 methods were distinguished. Case-study, role play and simulation exercises turned out to be the most popular. It was also possible to make preliminary conclusions on how to properly match the method to the learning outcomes. Moreover, a weak point of many studies was the lack of structured methods of assessing the skills acquired by the students. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the curriculum renewal in pharmacy is necessary and requires taking many aspects into account, from the types of tasks assigned to pharmacists, through the selection of appropriate teaching methods, to the verification of assessment methods.