A Pharmacy Business Management Simulation Exercise as a Practical Application of Business Management Material and Principles

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-17-2014

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To implement a pharmacy business management simulation exercise as a practical application of business management material and principles and assess students' perceived value. Design. As part of a pharmacy management and administration course, students made various calculations and management decisions in the global categories of hours of operation, inventory, pricing, and personnel. The students entered the data into simulation software and a realistic community pharmacy marketplace was modeled. Course topics included accounting, economics, finance, human resources, management, marketing, and leadership. Assessment. An 18-item posttest survey was administered. Students' slightly to moderately agreed the pharmacy simulation program enhanced their knowledge and understanding, particularly of inventory management, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements. Overall attitudes toward the pharmacy simulation program were also slightly positive and students also slightly agreed the pharmacy simulation program enhanced their learning of pharmacy business management. Inventory management was the only area in which students felt they had at least "some" exposure to the assessed business management topics during IPPEs/internship, while all other areas of experience ranged from "not at all" to "a little."

CONCLUSION: The pharmacy simulation program is an effective active-learning exercise and enhanced students' knowledge and understanding of the business management topics covered.

Publication Title

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Volume

78

Issue

3

First Page

62

Last Page

62

PubMed ID

24761023

Comments

This article was published in American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Volume 78, Number 3, April 17, 2014, Page 62.

The article can be read on Pubmed at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3996394/

The published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.5688/ajpe78362

Copyright © 2014 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

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