Objective:
To investigate the effectiveness and utility of the peer-to-peer model of student-led tutorial (SLT) as a learning strategy to build knowledge and skills for pharmacy students across various years.
Methods:
Year 4 pharmacy students delivered SLTs on infectious diseases, patient self-care and cardiovascular diseases online and live to both third- and fourth-year students in preparation for their experiential placements and the licensing exam. Retrospective self-assessment surveys were administered after each session. Five knowledge domains were assessed. A paired t-test was utilized to evaluate the survey data. Thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative comments on the survey.
Results:
A total of 81 students comprised of third and fourth year students responded to the survey. Prior to the SLTs, 46.8% of students rated their knowledge ‘Average’ (3 of 5) while 33.1% rated their knowledge ‘Above Average’ (4 of 5) in all knowledge domains. After the SLTs, 53.6% of students rated their knowledge to be ‘Above Average’ (4 of 5), while 27.5% rated ‘Excellent’ (5 of 5) in all knowledge domains. There was a statistically significant increase (p≤0.01) in all five knowledge domains post-SLTs for both third- and fourth-year students. Useful components of the SLTs were drug charts and case discussions.
Conclusions:
The SLT was an effective learning strategy for students across third and fourth year. Students perceived an increased level of therapeutic knowledge after attending the SLTs. Student presenters developed public speaking skills while consolidating knowledge. The peer-to-peer mentoring model is beneficial for student life-long learning and professional practice.