Pharmacy student opinions of a virtual reality and simulation field trip of a sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing site to support student learning: a survey study

Abstract Introduction Pharmacy educators constantly strive to develop innovative approaches to attain real-world learning experiences for students. The use of virtual reality (VR) and simulation in education is growing, while to date, many of their applications within pharmacy education have focused on clinical pharmacy practice knowledge attainment. However, pharmacy graduates also have a role in improving the health of patients through careers in pharmaceutical drug manufacture. At present logistical barriers exist which limit opportunities for pharmacy students to obtain physical onsite experience in a sterile manufacturing facility during their degree. Accordingly, to support learning and increase accessibility of these sites a virtual field trip was developed. This allowed students to experience a walkthrough of a sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing site using three tools: a VR headset, a 360-video and a desktop video. Aim This study aimed to understand student opinions of the virtual field trip, assess the usability of the VR and simulation tools developed and investigate capacity for a virtual visit to replace a physical visit to a sterile manufacturing site. Methods Ninety-six students were eligible for inclusion. Data from undergraduate and postgraduate students was gathered through an online survey consisting of Likert-scale, multiple-choice and open-text questions. A System Usability Scale (SUS) score was calculated for each VR and simulation tool.1 Responses were coded and analysed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics—whereby p 0.05 denotes statistical significance. Open-text responses were analysed using conventional content analysis as per the steps outlined by Hsieh and Shannon.2 Results The response rate was 82.3% (79/96 students), where 59 undergraduate and 20 postgraduate students responded. Most students (97.4%, n = 76/78) were either extremely satisfied or satisfied with the session. Approximately 60% (59.5%, n = 47/79) of students had no prior experience with VR technology. Almost two thirds (64.6%, n = 50/77) ranked the VR walkthrough as their favourite tool, followed by 360 video walkthrough (19.5%, n = 15/77) and desktop walkthrough (15.6%, n = 12/77) of the facility. Two out of three students (66.7%, n = 12/18) with previous onsite experience agreed the field trip could replace a physical onsite visit. Open-text responses revealed advantages and drawbacks versus a physical visit such as convenience, improved communication of information, lack of human interaction and missing experiences of rules and protocols. A higher proportion of those with no previous onsite experience (43.3%, n = 26/60) reported that the use of VR and simulation enhanced their understanding of sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing versus those with previous onsite experience (16.7%, n = 3/18, p 0.05). All tools displayed acceptable usability, where the desktop walkthrough scored highest with a mean SUS of 79.96 and a grade of A-, indicating ‘superior performance.’ Most students (91.0%, n = 71/78) would welcome wider use of VR and simulation in their pharmacy programme. Conclusion While limited to data from one pharmacy school, positive results obtained highlight potential for VR and simulation strategies to increase educational standards in teaching of sterile compounding. Results will be of interest to pharmacy educators who wish to implement technology to support learning and highlight an alternative strategy to increase accessibility of practice settings during pharmacy programmes.