e-learning RCSI sponsorship

This summer saw the third annual Helix Health sponsored studentship in the School of Pharmacy at the RCSI. The studentship is part of a programme to develop web-based interactive e-learning to enhance the teaching of healthcare students.  

In 2008, Helix Health committed to donating €15,000 over a five year period or €3,000 a year to the RSCI to fund the development of e-learning packages for pharmacy students. These e-learning packages aim to promote increased levels of patient care by honing interpersonal skills through web-based interactive software. The software will also build on student’s basic knowledge and lead to the development of interpretative, decision-making, cognitive and analytical skills.

Speaking at the announcement of the funding in 2008, Chief Executive of Helix Health Mr Howard Beggs, said that patient care would become a more fundamental part of pharmacy training over the next number of years. “Medical and pharmaceutical training should have no lesser focus on customer care than that which we’d expect from any other business with such a concentration on client interaction,” he said. “I would like to see the situation where all pharmacists are trained through cutting edge technology ensuring that they are equipped with the necessary skills early in their education to meet the challenges of patient care in the future.”

According to Ms Michelle Flood, Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy at the RCSI, the web-based interactive packages are designed as an innovative tool to support the learning of particular practical and patient care aspects of pharmacy practice. “Helix Health provided the funding for the necessary hardware and software, as well as committing to the sponsorship of a ten week studentship over each of the five years. This support from Helix Health has been vital in the continuing success of the project,” she explained.

This year third year RCSI pharmacy student, Tom Flahive, is undertaking the third phase of the project. This phase involves the design of e-learning packages to support the interprofessional modules. This will bring the innovative teaching technologies to a wider audience and help further the development of interprofessional interaction and learning between medicine and pharmacy students. The potential audiences include students of the Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine as well as students of the National Pharmacy Internship Programme and Medical Interns.