Edinburgh Napier University

  Objective: This review aimed to assess the quality and nature of the literature related to digital simulation-based pharmacology education. Specifically, we sought to understand the influence of the simulations on the knowledge, satisfaction, and confidence of nurses and other healthcare professionals participating in such programs.

Design: Systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement.

Data sources: PubMed, MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, ProQuest, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and CINHAL databases were searched for studies published in English from 2016 to 2023.

Review methods: Only the quantitative results that demonstrate the impact of digital simulation-based pharmacology courses on knowledge, satisfaction, and confidence were selected for review. Data were synthesized using a narrative approach.

Result: Out of 1,587 articles,16 met the inclusion criteria. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the included articles. This was followed by a narrative synthesis to consolidate the themes. A wide variety of digital technologies have been utilised, such as computer simulation, 3D simulation, virtual simulation, mixed reality, and augmented reality, with the majority using virtual simulation. All studies implemented single-user simulations. The themes emerging from the narrative synthesis suggest that a digital simulation-based pharmacology course is an effective tool for enhancing students' knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction in learning pharmacological concepts. Furthermore, simulation-based teaching with a blended approach was found to be beneficial. However, the integration of the polypharmacy concept and the interprofessional approach to teaching and learning was not evident in these studies. Despite the benefits of such courses for knowledge acquisition, only a few studies measured knowledge retention.

Conclusion: This narrative synthesis provides evidence of the great potential of digital simulation-based education in pharmacology teaching among healthcare pre-registration students. In future studies, the integration of polypharmacy content with an interprofessional teaching approach is recommended.