FEATURES OF THE FORMATION OF CLINICAL THINKING IN THE CONTEXT OF USING DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

The formation of clinical thinking in the Master of Pharmacy program using distance learning in the educational process requires methodological adjustments including those in teaching methods and the organization of the educational process itself, which creates new challenges in pedagogical work.

The aim of the study – to determine the possibilities of distance learning’s use in teaching the disciplines “Pharmacotherapy with the basics of pharmacokinetics” and “Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Care” for the development of clinical thinking in 4th and 5th-year students of pharmaceutical faculties and to develop potential improvement strategies for them.

Material for research the experiences of organizing and conducting the educational process of students in the Master of Pharmacy of the ZSMFU using distance and mixed forms of education over the past three years. We have also used reports, and other procedural documents as well as students’ surveys. The data were analyzed via content analysis with further narrative synthesis with the use of thematic grouping and generalizations.

The training of future specialists in the pharmaceutical industry at Zaporizhzhia State University of Medicine and Pharmacy (ZSUMPh) is carried out in a distance form using modern information and communication technologies and such on-line services as Office 365: MS Teams, MS Forms, MS SharePoint; Skype, Zoom, Ratos and EdX. ZSUMPh has generated all the necessary conditions for implementing online learning technologies, allowing students to successfully utilize interactive methods to master all the necessary competencies in conformity with the “Educational and Professional Program”. Modelling of various components and situational tasks corresponding to the practical work of a future pharmacist, in turn, contributes to the development of the basics of clinical thinking among senior students of pharmaceutical faculties.

We believe that using distance learning technologies in the continuous education process with the help of computer-based online learning services, such as Office 365: MS Teams, MS Forms, MS SharePoint; Skype, Zoom, Ratos, and EdX should play a role in improving the educational process. More specifically, it should be used for the presentation of course material in real-time, in the form of a video conference, utilizing the platforms MS Teams, Skype, or Zoom, with the further possibility of preliminary access of students to this material. Furthermore, the recreation of clinical situations for individual work using Office 365 online services: MS Teams, MS Forms, Ratos helps future Master of Pharmacy to master professional skills and develop clinical thinking. The implementation and use of the “Interactive Patient” platform or the creation of a similar specialized platform, in the absence of direct student-patient communication, is promising for the expansion of clinical thinking in students of pharmaceutical faculties and requires further improvement in the educational process.