Curriculum-based Prescription Writing Among Undergraduate Medical and Dental Students

Abstract

Background: Prescription writing is highly intricate. It is a reflection of the prescriber’s knowledge of clinical pharmacology and well-defined judgment. Weak prescribing skills are mostly exhibited by junior doctors. Contributory factors include improper training, integrated system, and weak skills of the prescriber. Research provides substantial evidence that these flaws can be minimized through structured educational interventions. Objective: To evaluate medical and dental students on rational prescription writing, identification of elements and abbreviations of a prescription. Methods: A cross sectional study was performed on second year medical and dental students of Ziauddin University. In three 3 sessions, the students were taught rationale prescription writing, abbreviations, and elements used in prescription writing consecutively. The elements were based on doctor’s and patient’s information, followed by the drug component written explicitly. Each session was followed by exercises on case scenarios, to assess their comprehension of the topic. The p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In the study 83% of the students completed components of rational prescription writing for a given case scenario, with 75% and 77% students identifying abbreviations and various elements in five tailor-made prescriptions respectively. Conclusion: Rational prescription writing is a curriculum-based inherent skill acquired by medical and dental students during their training. When rational prescription writing is taught together with elements of a prescription and abbreviations, it equips students with sound knowledge of clinical pharmacology and refines their judgment in formulating prescriptions. Key Words: Rational Prescription Writing, Elements, Medical Abbreviations.