Pharmacology is a foreign language: The use of podcasts to promote pharmacology understanding in non-medical prescribing students

Oonagh Meade, Dianne Bowskill, Joanne Lymn

University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

Qualification as a non-medical prescriber gives nurses access to almost the same formulary of drugs as doctors. Pharmacology is the largest single component of this course but is the area that students struggle most with. Students attending the non-medical prescribing course are mature learners, from diverse academic backgrounds, many of whom have little or no biological science knowledge and have been out of education for a number of years [Lymn et al, 2008]. This background has profound implications for both non-medical prescribing education and ultimately patient safety.

The aim of this project was to investigate the value of using podcasts to supplement pharmacological understanding in non-medical prescribing students. It is hoped that the ability to listen to these lectures again via a podcast will encourage students to manage their own learning, promoting understanding of material, and facilitating development of deeper learning strategies which can be utilised throughout both the course and their subsequent clinical practice.

Seven key pharmacology lectures were recorded (general principles, absorption & distribution, metabolism & excretion, autonomic nervous system, analgesia, anxiolytics and antidepressants, and contraception), edited using Audacity and uploaded onto the university server. Links to individual podcasts, and the associated downloadable MP3 files, were added to the virtual learning environment, WebCT. Student use of podcasts was monitored by WebCT tracking while students’ perception of the value of podcasts as a learning tool was evaluated using a postal questionnaire. The impact of podcast provision on student knowledge was analysed by a historical comparison of answers to stem and branch, true/false exam questions from students (n=64) who had access to podcasts with students (n=70) who did not have access to these learning tools.

WebCT tracking indicated that 87% of the total students (n=64) accessed at least one podcast with a range of 0 to 48 clicks per student. Questionnaire data (n = 43) indicated that 86% of students accessed the podcasts in order to revisit the lecture generally while 77% accessed them specifically for revision purposes and 14% used them because they had missed the session. In terms of usefulness 86% found the podcasts ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’ in promoting their understanding while 84% found the podcasts ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’ as a revision aid.

“I used it as a repetitive tool to familiarise myself with terminology I hadn’t heard before – to promote my comfort – to then go on and digest the subject.”

Whilst there was a consistent trend in improvement in student knowledge in exam questions, using an unpaired t-test, in relation to metabolism & excretion (mean ± SEM exam score 4.4±0.09 vs 4.2±0.11) and the autonomic nervous system (mean ± SEM exam score 8.2±1.42 vs 8.0±1.77) this was only statistically significant in relation to analgesia (mean ± SEM exam score 4.5±0.08 vs 4.1±0.11, p=0.001).

Questionnaire data suggests that students find podcasts useful and analysis of exam performance indicates that these tools may act to support and develop pharmacology understanding.

Lymn, J, Bath-Hextall, F & Wharrad, H J (2008) BMC Nursing, 7:2