Evaluation of hands on training on prescription writing skills among medical students in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Abstract

Background: Prescription writing is an essential and a basic skill to be acquired by medical students during their training. Specific training and supervision in writing a rational prescription should be emphasized during undergraduate teaching to minimize prescription errors. Aims and Objectives: The prime objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of the second-year MBBS students to write a prescription and to assess the effectiveness of hands on training on appropriate prescription writing. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted among 117 second-year MBBS students. Students were asked to write prescriptions for three case scenarios. An educational interventional session and hands on training was conducted. Post session the students were asked to write prescriptions for three different case scenarios. All the prescriptions were analyzed and feedback was given to the students. Results: 350 prescriptions each were collected pre-and post-educational interventional sessions from the students. The completeness of the prescriptions were analyzed on the basis of the prescriber and drug-related components. A widespread lacunae was observed in the prescription writing skills of the medical students, which improved significantly (P < 0.05) after the educational interventional sessions and hands on training. Conclusion: This study shows that hands on training has improved the prescription writing skills of the medical students. This type of training should be included as a part of pharmacology practical curriculum.

A Rapid Review of Prescribing Education Interventions

“…In focus group discussions, participants expressed positive opinions of the master class. However, the cohort of participants was small and there would need to be further testing of the intervention 4: Results are clear and very likely to be true Raghu et al, 2017 [ 28 ] Tagore Medical College Chennai, India Before-and-after study 117 second year medical students Sessions on rational prescribing included group discussions on previous prescriptions written by students, pointing out mistakes. Students then rewrote prescriptions and these were assessed for quality using the WHO GGP Can group discussion sessions on rational prescribing and improve prescription writing skills in second year medical students?…”

“…Six case-based interventions were conducted through exposing students to treatment-setting standards from the World Health Organization (WHO) Guide to Good Prescribing (GGP) to varying [ 28 – 33 ]. Two studies used a combination of didactic lectures and subsequent prescription-writing for specific paper case scenarios [ 28 , 31 ], two studies implemented an individualised instruction approach where students were provided with the WHO GGP to use individually for creating treatment plans [ 32 , 33 ], one study used an experiential approach where students learned through observing real-life patients [ 30 ] and one study implemented the WHO GGP across an entire curriculum and in a variety of teaching formats [ 29 ].…”

“…Kamat et al [ 31 ] themed prior lectures and case-based tutorials (CBT) involving treatment of varying conditions such as diabetes mellitus, peptic ulcers and constipation on the six steps of the WHO GGP. Raghu et al [ 28 ] recruited 117 second-year medical students and asked them to compile prescriptions for three case scenarios. After delivering rational prescribing sessions and subsequently asking for the prescriptions to be re-written, they assessed and provided feedback to the students according to the WHO GGP standards.…”

“…This review also found that prescribing education interventions continue to be designed using the main concepts of the WHO GGP, demonstrating that despite its publication being back in 1994, the guideline continues to be the leading model for safe and rational prescribing to this day. This assertion is aided by the positive results yielded by interventions designed around the WHO GGP, both in assessment and student perception [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…Six case-based interventions were conducted through exposing students to treatment-setting standards from the World Health Organization (WHO) Guide to Good Prescribing (GGP) to varying [28][29][30][31][32][33]. Two studies used a combination of didactic lectures and subsequent prescription-writing for specific paper case scenarios [28,31], two studies implemented an individualised instruction approach where students were provided with the WHO GGP to use individually for creating treatment plans [32,33], one study used an experiential approach where students learned through observing real-life patients [30] and one study implemented the WHO GGP across an entire curriculum and in a variety of teaching formats [29]. Keisjers et al [29] made extensive use of the WHO GGP through incorporating it into a whole medical curriculum, where all pharmacology and pharmacotherapy modules were modelled according to the learning goals of the WHO GGP, and the guide was heavily featured during whole-group lectures, small-group tutorials and practical sessions.…”