Abstract
Background and purpose: Coagulation is a complex physiological process that includes numerous feedback and feedforward reactions. Learning about coagulation and the use of anticoagulants is complicated by the dynamic and non-linear nature of the processes involved. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the effects of a computer simulation-enabled workshop on students' understanding of the time course of warfarin effect.
Educational activity and setting: A computer simulation of coagulation (CoaguSim) was developed to support an undergraduate pharmacy therapeutics workshop. Workshop activities were designed to allow students to generate and test their own hypotheses via CoaguSim based on a case scenario involving treatment with the anti-clotting drug warfarin.
Findings: One hundred and fifteen final year bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm) students participated in the case study. Their mean scores for five multiple choice questions (MCQs) on warfarin pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability increased significantly from 45% (pre-workshop) to 81% (post-workshop), p < 0.05. A focus group interview also provided support that students learned by generating and testing their hypotheses via CoaguSim during the workshop.
Discussion and summary: The new workshop improved pharmacy students' understanding of the dose-response relationship of warfarin. Further development of the simulation to include other drugs is underway.