William W.L. Wong and Robin Andrade running informatics labs from home
Online learning is the new norm at the School of Pharmacy in Spring Term as a result of COVID-19. Faculty members are exploring a variety of innovative methods to deliver content and assessments in a virtual space.
When he was in the classroom, William W.L. Wong was known for his ability to break complex concepts down and give his students opportunities to apply the concepts he taught using software in the School’s Professional Practice Lab. Wong specializes in health informatics and pharmacoeconomics, and students appreciated how he brought these complex topics to life with examples drawn from Canada’s health-care system.
“Through demonstrating the practical application of informatics, I help students appreciate that many key concepts in this discipline are actually simpler than they initially seem,” he says. “It was important that I was able to find a solution to replicate this in the current online learning environment.”
When on campus, students worked with Kroll software to complete informatics lab tasks. The labs assessed their abilities using a pharmacy management system to document patient information and provide pharmacy services. Students typically use Kroll software to produces patient records, fill prescriptions and visualize drug interaction alerts.
Kroll is only available on computers in the School’s Professional Practice Lab. It wasn’t easy, but through collaboration with Robin Andrade, professional practice instructor, and Steve Bradley, IT manager, Wong devised a solution to continue offering this hands-on learning experience to his remote students.
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