An Internet Training Module for Traditional and Nontraditional Doctor of Pharmacy Students: Content and Evaluation

The purpose of this project was to develop, utilize and evaluate an Internet training module for doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students that would introduce the use of e-mail, on-line searching for primary literature and patient information and to compare the student perceptions of the module between traditional and nontraditional PharmD students. A World Wide Web site was developed which provided the students with instructions for the module, but no print-based copies of the module were provided to students. An evaluation was completed and submitted electronically. Both traditional and nontraditional PharmD students agreed that the module was user friendly and that they saw the value of this exercise in identifying potential resources for future courses and clerkship assignments. Development of an Internet training module enabled students to send and receive e-mail messages to and from course instructors. Students learned how to search primary literature citations and patient information sheets for prescription drugs, disease states and herbal remedies on the Internet. Further expansion of this module will include on-line publications, pharmaceutical manufacturers, professional organizational web pages and online professional placement services.