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Related Experiment Videos

Intern Prescribing for Common Clinical Conditions.

S. Pearson1, A.J. Smith, I.E. Rolfe

  • 1Discipline of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Newcastle, Australia (author for correspondence, Tel: (61) 2-49211294; Fax: (61) 2-49602088;

Advances in Health Sciences Education : Theory and Practice
|October 19, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Medical interns showed significant improvement in prescribing skills by the end of their training year. Initial prescribing was often inappropriate, but training enhanced appropriate drug selection, dosage, and frequency for common conditions.

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Area of Science:

  • Medical Education
  • Clinical Pharmacy
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Newly graduated medical doctors (interns) often lack essential prescribing skills.
  • Assessing prescribing competence is crucial for patient safety and effective healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the prescribing appropriateness of interns at the start and end of their intern year.
  • To understand interns' self-perceived prescribing abilities and influencing factors.

Main Methods:

  • A questionnaire and prescription writing exercise for common clinical scenarios were administered to 56 interns.
  • Prescribing appropriateness was assessed using a validated rating scale by two independent assessors.
  • Perceived influences on prescribing practices were identified at the end of the intern year.

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Main Results:

  • Initially, over two-thirds of interns prescribed inappropriately for all tested clinical conditions.
  • By the end of the year, 75% of interns prescribed appropriately for all conditions.
  • Interns' self-perceived ability to determine appropriate drug dosage and frequency was low at the start.

Conclusions:

  • Medical school graduates demonstrate significant deficits in prescribing skills, particularly in dose and frequency determination.
  • The intern year provides substantial improvement in prescribing appropriateness for common clinical conditions.
  • Registrars, consultants, literature, and pharmacists are key influences on intern prescribing practices.