Pharmaceutical care in rural community pharmacy clerkships: Emphasis on developing computer skills to enhance patient education

Two pharmacy computer training laboratories were developed at opposite ends of Nebraska to facilitate student acquisition of computer skills focusing on patient education prior to rural clerkships at Nebraska Drug Information Network sites. The labs were equipped with IBM-compatible multimedia computers housing 20 patient education and nine professional software programs. Students (n=28) completed a two-day laboratory evaluating these products. Integration of these tools with pharmaceutical care activities was discussed. Student experiences with software databases were assessed prior to the laboratory and their use of the computer in delivering education was evaluated during the following one-month clerkship at Network sites. Most (96 percent) of students (n=25) had experience with IBM compatible computers predominantly in word processing (88 percent), graphics (62 percent) and spreadsheets (54 percent). The majority had previously used Identidex (88 percent), Poisindex (85 percent) and Drugdex (81 percent), however few were familiar with patient education programs (Aftercare: 31 percent, Home Medical Advisor Pro: 16 percent and DynaPulse: 15 percent). Of the 5,109 student-patient interactions during the ensuing month, drug and health information were provided in 2,752 (54 percent) of the interactions. Computer-assisted education occurred in 464 (17 percent) of these encounters. In nearly half of the cases (n=2,357; 46 percent) the student was involved only in the dispensing of the product. Given how critical patient education and pharmaceutical care are to the future of pharmacy, it is important that students have exposure to these products that should be the mainstay of their future practice. This validates the need for the computer training laboratories. Additionally, patient counseling in their clerkship experience is in need of enhancement and should occupy a greater percentage of student clerkship activities.