Impact of the “DrugSpeak” programme on drug name pronunciation skills and perceptions in a pharmacy student cohort

Authors

  • Matthew Cheesman Griffith University, Southport, Australia
  • Darren Do Griffith University, Southport, Australia
  • Sean Alcorn Griffith University, Southport, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3533-6554
  • Gary Grant Griffith University, Southport, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2574-5442
  • Elizabeth Cardell Griffith University, Southport, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2022.221.348359

Keywords:

DrugSpeak, Pharmacy practice, Phonetic, Pronounciation, Verbal communication

Abstract

Introduction: Difficulties in pronouncing many drug names can lead to medication errors in pharmacy practice. A pilot study called DrugSpeak was devised to provide educational scaffolding to enable students to pronounce drug names correctly.

Method: Student participants (n = 26) accessed online videos on phonetics and audio files of drug names, and then undertook a workshop that provided them with basic phonetics training to assist them in pronouncing drug names correctly. Surveys and audio recordings of student pronunciations of drug names were conducted before and after intervention with DrugSpeak.

Results: Significant increases (p<0.01) in student drug pronunciation and accuracy were observed following DrugSpeak. Students reported reductions in anxiety and enhancements in their confidence levels relevant to drug pronunciation.

Conclusion: The DrugSpeak education package yielded promising outcomes in the improvement of student drug pronunciation skills and in providing students with the confidence to tackle drug names unfamiliar to them.

Author Biographies

Matthew Cheesman, Griffith University, Southport, Australia

School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

Darren Do, Griffith University, Southport, Australia

School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

Sean Alcorn, Griffith University, Southport, Australia

School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

Gary Grant, Griffith University, Southport, Australia

School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

Elizabeth Cardell, Griffith University, Southport, Australia

School of Medicine and Dentistry

References

Abdellatif, A., Bagian, J. P., Barajas, E. R., Cohen, M., Cousins, D., Denham, C. R., ... & Youngson, R. (2007). Look-alike, sound-alike medication names: Patient safety solutions, volume 1, solution 1, May 2007. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 33(7), 430-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1553-7250(07)33049-3

Aronson, J. K. (2009). Medication errors: what they are, how they happen, and how to avoid them. QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, 102(8), 513-521. https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcp052

Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117-148. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2802_3

Beard, L., & Aghassibake, N. (2021). Tableau (version 2020.3). Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 109(1), 159. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2021.1135

Beyea, S. C., Hicks, R. W., & Becker, S. C. (2003). Medication errors in the OR—a secondary analysis of Medmarx. AORN Journal, 77(1), 122-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-2092(06)61382-3

Brantmeier, C., Schueller, J., Wilde, J. A., & Kinginger, C. (2007). Gender equity in foreign and second language learning. In S. S. Klein, B. Richardson, D. A. Grayson, L. H. Fox, C. Kramarae, D. S. Pollard, & C. A. Dwyer (Eds.), Handbook for achieving gender equity through education (pp. 305–333). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers

Brekelmans, G. (2017). The value of phonetics and pronunciation teaching for advanced learners of English. Linguistica, 57(1), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.4312/linguistica.57.1.45-58

Bryan, R., Aronson, J. K., Williams, A., & Jordan, S. (2021). The problem of look‐alike, sound‐alike name errors: Drivers and solutions. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 87(2), 386-394. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcp.14285

Cheesman, M. J., Alcorn, S., Grant, G., & Cardell, E. (2020). 'DrugSpeak': Increasing pharmacy students' drug pronunciation proficiency. Medical Education, 54(5), 443-444. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14120

Cohen, M. R. (1995). Drug product characteristics that foster drug-use-system errors. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 52(4), 395-399. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/52.4.395

Cram, D. (2018). The proper alphabet principle. Language & History, 61(1-2), 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/17597536.2018.1441953

Davis, N. M., Cohen, M. R., & Teplitsky, B. (1992). Look-alike and sound-alike drug names: the problem and the solution. Hospital Pharmacy, 27(2), 95-8. https://europepmc.org/article/med/10183617

Diamond, L., Izquierdo, K., Canfield, D., Matsoukas, K., & Gany, F. (2019). A systematic review of the impact of patient–physician non-English language concordance on quality of care and outcomes. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 34(8), 1591-1606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-04847-5

Emmerton, L. M., & Rizk, M. F. (2012). Look-alike and sound-alike medicines: risks and ‘solutions’. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 34(1), 4-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-011-9595-x

Faber, J., & Fonseca, L. M. (2014). How sample size influences research outcomes. Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics, 19(4), 27-29. https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-9451.19.4.027-029.ebo

Frank, D. S. (2018). I’m talking to you-Mab—How to pronounce the new, unpronounceable pharmaceuticals. JAMA Internal Medicine, 178(3), 319-320. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.7898

Holder, G. M., Jones, J., Robinson, R. A., & Krass, I. (1999). Academic literacy skills and progression rates amongst pharmacy students. Higher Education Research & Development, 18(1), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436990180103

James, K. L., Barlow, D., McArtney, R., Hiom, S., Roberts, D., & Whittlesea, C. (2009). Incidence, type and causes of dispensing errors: a review of the literature. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 17(1), 9-30. https://doi.org/10.1211/ijpp.17.1.0004

Kelly, G. (2001). How to Teach Pronunciation. London: Pearson Education Limited

Kennedy, S., & Trofimovich, P. (2010). Language awareness and second language pronunciation: A classroom study. Language Awareness, 19(3), 171-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2010.486439

Khaghaninejad, M. S., & Maleki, A. (2015). The effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on listening comprehension: Evidence from Iranian English learners. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(6), 1249. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0506.18

Lambert, B. L., Chang, K. Y., & Gupta, P. (2003). Effects of frequency and similarity neighborhoods on pharmacists’ visual perception of drug names. Social Science & Medicine, 57(10), 1939-1955. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(03)00059-5

Lambert, B. L., Chang, K. Y., & Lin, S. J. (2001). Effect of orthographic and phonological similarity on false recognition of drug names. Social Science & Medicine, 52(12), 1843-1857. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00301-4

Lambert, B. L., Dickey, L. W., Fisher, W. M., Gibbons, R. D., Lin, S. J., Luce, P. A., ... & Clement, T. Y. (2010). Listen carefully: the risk of error in spoken medication orders. Social Science & Medicine, 70(10), 1599-1608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.01.042

Levis, J. M. (2016). Research into practice: How research appears in pronunciation teaching materials. Language Teaching, 49(3), 423-437. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444816000045

McGunagle, D., & Zizka, L. (2020). Employability skills for 21st-century STEM students: the employers' perspective. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 10(3), 591-606. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-10-2019-0148

Ogden, R. (2017). Introduction to English Phonetics. Edinburgh University Press

Oktafiani Z, Yusri Y. The relationship of self confidence to students learning achievement. Counseling and Humanities Review, 1(1), 20-26. https://doi.org/10.24036/000411chr2021

Palanica, A., Thommandram, A., Lee, A., Li, M., & Fossat, Y. (2019). Do you understand the words that are comin outta my mouth? Voice assistant comprehension of medication names. NPJ Digital Medicine, 2(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0133-x

Palmer, L., Levett-Jones, T., Smith, R., & McMillan, M. (2014). Academic literacy diagnostic assessment in the first semester of first year at university. International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 5(1), 67-78. https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v5i1.201

Palmer, L., Levett-Jones, T., & Smith, R. (2018). First year students' perceptions of academic literacies preparedness and embedded diagnostic assessment. Student Success, 9(2), 49-62. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v9i2.417

Patterson, C. (2018). Unpronounceable drug names. Australian Prescriber, 41(6), 176. https://doi.org/10.18773/austprescr.2018.057

Pham, J. C., Story, J. L., Hicks, R. W., Shore, A. D., Morlock, L. L., Cheung, D. S., ... & Pronovost, P. J. (2011). National study on the frequency, types, causes, and consequences of voluntarily reported emergency department medication errors. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 40(5), 485-492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2008.02.059

Phatak, H. M., Cady, P. S., Heyneman, C. A., & Culbertson, V. L. (2005). Retrospective detection of potential medication errors involving drugs with similar names. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 45(5), 616-624. https://doi.org/10.1331/1544345055001247

Richter, K. (2018). Factors Affecting the Pronunciation Abilities of Adult Learners of English. A Longitudinal Group Study. In Exploring Language Aptitude: Views from Psychology, the Language Sciences, and Cognitive Neuroscience (pp. 339-361). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91917-1_18

Schroeder, S. R., Salomon, M. M., Galanter, W. L., Schiff, G. D., Vaida, A. J., Gaunt, M. J., ... & Lambert, B. L. (2017). Cognitive tests predict real-world errors: the relationship between drug name confusion rates in laboratory-based memory and perception tests and corresponding error rates in large pharmacy chains. BMJ Quality & Safety, 26(5), 395-407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2015-005099

Smetzer, J., & Cohen, M. R. (2001). Instilling a measure of safety into those ‘whispering down the lane’ verbal orders. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Medication Safety Alert, 6, 1-2

Tanaka, J. S. (1987). “How Big Is Big Enough?”: Sample Size and Goodness of Fit in Structural Equation Models with Latent Variables. Child Development, 58(1), 134–146. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130296

Tsikriktsis, N. (2005). A review of techniques for treating missing data in OM survey research. Journal of Operations Management, 24(1), 53-62

Underhill, A. (2005). Sound foundations. Macmillan Education

WHO. (2017). WHO launches global effort to halve medication-related errors in 5 years. https://www.who.int/news/item/29-03-2017-who-launches-global-effort-to-halve-medication-related-errors-in-5-years Accessed 20 Aug 2021.

Zhao, D., & Jiang, G. M. (2021, June). Evaluation Model of English Continuous Pronunciation Teaching Quality Based on Cloud Computing. In International Conference on E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training (pp. 354-364). Springer, Cham

Downloads

Published

28-05-2022

How to Cite

Cheesman, M., Do, D., Alcorn, S., Grant, G., & Cardell, E. (2022). Impact of the “DrugSpeak” programme on drug name pronunciation skills and perceptions in a pharmacy student cohort . Pharmacy Education, 22(1), p. 348–359. https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2022.221.348359

Issue

Section

Research Article