Tricyclic Antidepressant Overdose Manikin Simulation in Student Pharmacists

Abstract

Background: Pharmacists must be knowledgeable of medication use within the scope of both typical dosing and atypical dosing. In the United States, antidepressants are the fourth most common substance in overdose situations and are ranked first for serious exposures per year. Objective: The purpose of this study is to design, implement, and assess the efficacy of an antidepressant overdose simulation using a high-fidelity manikin. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, observational, cross-sectional study of third-year student pharmacists in spring 2021. This study was determined to be exempt by the institutional review board. Students who did not participate in the manikin simulation or complete both the pre- and postsimulation surveys were excluded. Student pharmacists were expected to identify the type of overdose, identify probable offending agent, and evaluate the hemodynamic status. Primary objectives compared student pharmacist knowledge, confidence in recognizing overdose, and confidence in managing overdose pre- and post-antidepressant overdose manikin simulation. Results: Twenty-three students completed both surveys and participated in the simulation. The knowledge total score was 2.1 ± 1.3 in the presimulation and 2.9 ± 0.9 in the postsimulation (P < 0.001). The recognition confidence was 2.0 ± 1.3 in the presimulation and 3.7 ± 0.7 in the postsimulation (P < 0.001). The management confidence was 1.8 ± 1.0 in the presimulation and 3.5 ± 0.5 in the postsimulation (P < 0.001). Limitations in this study were small sample size, lack of rubric, and a case prompt. Conclusion: The outcomes were statistically significant postsimulation. Manikin simulations may have a larger impact on a pharmacy curriculum.