Article date: January 2011
By: Euan A. Sandilands, Karen Reid, Laura Shaw, D. Nicholas Bateman, David J. Webb, Neeraj Dhaun, David C. Kluth, in Volume 71, Issue 1, pages 29-33
WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT
• Medication errors, and particularly prescribing errors, are common in UK hospitals.
• Junior doctors make the majority of prescribing errors.
• Deficiencies in prescribing education and training have been closely linked to the high frequency of medication errors.
WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS
• Focussed prescribing teaching can lead to an improvement in prescribing ability.
• Prescribing confidence can be significantly improved through education.
• Education is insufficient alone in eradicating prescribing errors.
AIM To assess the impact of prescribing teaching on final year medical students.
METHODS Students randomly allocated to two hospitals completed a prescribing assessment. Prescribing teaching was delivered to the intervention group while no additional teaching was provided for the control group. All students then completed a second prescribing assessment.
RESULTS Teaching improved the assessment score: mean assessment 2 vs. 1, 70% vs. 62%, P= 0.007; allergy documentation: 98% vs. 74%, P= 0.0001; and confidence. However, 30% of prescriptions continued to include prescribing errors.
CONCLUSION Medical students make significant errors in prescribing. Teaching improves ability and confidence but is insufficient alone in eradicating errors.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2010.03808.x
View this article