Proceedings of the International Conference on Medical Education (ICME 2021)

Virtual vs. Conventional Practicum in Pharmacology: Students’ Perspectives

Authors
Riana Rahmawati, Isnatin Miladiyah, Muflihah Rizkawati, Marlina Anggraeni
Corresponding Author
Riana Rahmawati
Available Online 1 October 2021.
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.210930.044How to use a DOI?
Keywords
pharmacology, virtual learning, COVID-19
Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected the medical education process, in both clinical and preclinical years. This study compared students’ perspectives of the pharmacology practicum conducted in 2019 (pre-pandemic, conventional) and 2020 (virtual, via the Zoom platform). Secondary data used in this study were derived from questionnaires completed by students enrolled in two courses: a) Infection and b) Health Problems in Paediatrics. A questionnaire comprising 14 Likert-scale questions and two open-ended questions was used to assess students’ perspectives of co-teachers’ performance in small-group discussion and the quality of practicum learning. An independent t test was used to compare the responses. The responses to open-ended questions in the questionnaire were analysed descriptively. We assessed 191 and 344 questionnaires collected in the years 2019 (before the pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic), respectively. The mean score of co-teacher performance in the conventional practicum was 3.997 out of 4.000, which was higher than the score for the virtual practicum (3.841 out of 4.000, p<0.001). Most students in both groups responded “very good” (score 4) to the question about whether the practicum learning objectives could be achieved. The mean score for all items was >3.600. However, some challenges during practicum in the pandemic era were identified; these related to both practical (e.g., unstable internet connection) and substantive (e.g., inadequate prior knowledge of medications) aspects. Students perceived that both the conventional and virtual practicum were performed adequately to achieve the learning objectives. Despite the perceived good practice in virtual practicum, students preferred hands-on experience in pharmacology training.

Copyright
© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the International Conference on Medical Education (ICME 2021)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
1 October 2021
ISBN
978-94-6239-435-3
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.210930.044How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Riana Rahmawati
AU  - Isnatin Miladiyah
AU  - Muflihah Rizkawati
AU  - Marlina Anggraeni
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/10/01
TI  - Virtual vs. Conventional Practicum in Pharmacology: Students’ Perspectives
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Medical Education (ICME 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 235
EP  - 239
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210930.044
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.210930.044
ID  - Rahmawati2021
ER  -