Choose Your Own Adventure to Enhance Hypertension, Heart Failure, and Insulin Management Skills.

OBJECTIVE

Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) educational activities can be utilized in the classroom to simulate patient cases. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in pharmacy student knowledge and confidence in hypertension, heart failure, and insulin management skills after completion of CYOA activities.

METHODS

Three CYOA activities were developed for 3 separate lectures in 2 pharmacy electives on topics of hypertension, heart failure, and insulin management. Two different online platforms were used for the activities. Before and after each activity, instructor-created surveys were administered to students to assess knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction.

RESULTS

Overall, 110 potential respondents completed at least 1 of the 3 activities between 2021 and 2023. Average knowledge and confidence improved for each disease-state individually and when combined as a whole. Satisfaction was high (>4.5/5) for all activities and no differences were seen between activity platforms.

CONCLUSION

The CYOA activities can be successfully implemented in Doctor of Pharmacy elective classrooms using a digital platform for a variety of disease states and skills. Knowledge and confidence were improved in each individual topic and overall. Students enjoyed this activity regardless of the platform. Validated surveys and follow-up assessments would be beneficial in the future to determine if knowledge gains are sustainable.