A "Virtual Pharmacy Shelf" to Enhance the Rigor and Efficiency of Standardized-Patient OSCEs for Over-the-Counter Medication Advice.

BACKGROUND: Realistic simulation in health professional education can be costly or cumbersome. ACTIVITY: A low-cost, tablet-based simulated "virtual shelf" of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, hyperlinked to Drug Facts labels, eliminated use of physical product boxes or printed drug lists in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) for Doctor of Pharmacy students learning to provide OTC advice. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The application reduced instructor preparation and OSCE administration time by allowing students to tap product options instead of thumbing through medication lists. The shelf is realistic, easily updated, and transferable to other OSCEs when visual recognition is important or treatment options change frequently.