"Brown Bag" Simulations to Teach Drug Utilization Review

To teach drug utilization review (DUR) skills to pharmacy students and assess their abilities and confidence before and after training. Profile reviews and online and live drug-utilization-review activities of increasing difficulty were incorporated into the first (P1), second (P2), and third (P3) years of the Pharmacy Skills Training Laboratory sequence in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. An online survey instrument was administered to gauge how comfortable students were with specific DUR skills before and after the activities. Students' confidence in performing specific DUR skills improved after completing the activities. Profile reviews, as well as online and live medication reviews, gave students numerous opportunities to practice drug utilization review skills throughout the first 3 years of the pharmacy curriculum. Students' confidence in performing specific drug utilization review skills improved after the activities. Students' ability to perform the skills also improved as measured with the developed checklist in section V and VI of the Pharmacy Skills Laboratory sequence.