An educational tool for teaching medication history taking to pharmacy students.

OBJECTIVE: To implement and evaluate the use of a situated-learning experience to prepare second-year pharmacy students to conduct medication history interviews in preparation for introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE) at ambulatory clinic sites.
DESIGN: Second-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students (n=200) used the Medication Mysteries Infinite Case Tool, a game-like educational tool in which groups of 3 students assumed the roles of pharmacist, patient, and observer and rolled a die and drew cards to determine the drugs, patient personality, medication problems, and other variables that guided a medication history taking session. ASSESSMENT: After the laboratory session, faculty members assessed students' medication history-taking skills. One hundred sixteen (58%) and 78 (39%) of 200 students achieved excellence or competence, respectively, on the final assessment. Two weeks after the assessment, 53 of 200 (26.5%) students completed a survey instrument. The respondents indicated that their self-confidence in conducting medical history taking significantly improved following completion of the learning experience.
CONCLUSION: Using the Medication Mysteries Infinite Case Tool increased students' confidence and skills in conducting medication history taking prior to their clinical IPPE experience.