Educational Interventions for Medical Students to Improve Pharmacological Knowledge and Prescribing Skills: A Scoping Review.

Shi, W; Qin, H; Vaughan, B; Ng, L

Educational Interventions for Medical Students to Improve Pharmacological Knowledge and Prescribing Skills: A Scoping Review.

Shi, W Qin, H Vaughan, B

Ng, L

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Publisher:: UBIQUITY PRESS LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Perspect Med Educ, 2023, 12, (1), pp. 348-360
Issue Date:: 2023

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Shi, W
dc.contributor.author	Qin, H
dc.contributor.author	Vaughan, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8623-4558
dc.contributor.author	Ng, L
dc.date.accessioned	2024-02-19T22:34:09Z
dc.date.available	2023-06-24
dc.date.available	2024-02-19T22:34:09Z
dc.date.issued	2023
dc.identifier.citation	Perspect Med Educ, 2023, 12, (1), pp. 348-360
dc.identifier.issn	2212-2761
dc.identifier.issn	2212-277X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/175745
dc.description.abstract	INTRODUCTION: Medication-related errors place a heavy financial burden on healthcare systems worldwide, and mistakes are most likely to occur at the stage of prescribing. Junior doctors are more likely to make prescribing errors, and medical graduates also lack confidence and preparedness towards prescribing. Thus, this review aimed to evaluate the existing educational approaches to improve pharmacological knowledge and prescribing skills among medical students. METHODS: CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, Ovid Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched with keywords related to "pharmacological knowledge", "prescribing skills", "educational interventions" for articles published since 2016. RESULTS: 3595 records were identified, and 115 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Eighty full-text articles were eligible and included in this review. Thirty-seven studies focused on improving prescribing skills, whilst 43 targeted pharmacological knowledge. A broad range of interventions was implemented, including e-learning, case-based, interprofessional, and experiential learning. Pharmacological knowledge and prescribing skills were measured in various ways, and all studies reported one or more positive findings at Kirkpatrick level 1 or 2. No study reported outcomes at Kirkpatrick levels 3 and 4. DISCUSSION: The World Health Organisation's Good Guide to Prescribing was the foundation of the development of prescribing educational interventions. Emerging interventions such as experiential and interprofessional learning should be incorporated into the prescribing curriculum. Innovative approaches such as game-based learning can be considered for clinical pharmacology teaching. However, there was a lack of outcomes at Kirkpatrick levels 3 and 4. Robust methodology and reliable outcome measures are also needed in future studies.
dc.format	Electronic-eCollection
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	UBIQUITY PRESS LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	Perspect Med Educ
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.5334/pme.1006
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.classification	3901 Curriculum and pedagogy
dc.subject.classification	4206 Public health
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Students, Medical
dc.subject.mesh	Learning
dc.subject.mesh	Curriculum
dc.subject.mesh	Knowledge
dc.subject.mesh	Medical Staff, Hospital
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Learning
dc.subject.mesh	Knowledge
dc.subject.mesh	Curriculum
dc.subject.mesh	Students, Medical
dc.subject.mesh	Medical Staff, Hospital
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Students, Medical
dc.subject.mesh	Learning
dc.subject.mesh	Curriculum
dc.subject.mesh	Knowledge
dc.subject.mesh	Medical Staff, Hospital
dc.title	Educational Interventions for Medical Students to Improve Pharmacological Knowledge and Prescribing Skills: A Scoping Review.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	12
utslib.location.activity	Netherlands
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-02-19T22:34:08Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	12
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: Medication-related errors place a heavy financial burden on healthcare systems worldwide, and mistakes are most likely to occur at the stage of prescribing. Junior doctors are more likely to make prescribing errors, and medical graduates also lack confidence and preparedness towards prescribing. Thus, this review aimed to evaluate the existing educational approaches to improve pharmacological knowledge and prescribing skills among medical students. METHODS: CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, Ovid Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched with keywords related to "pharmacological knowledge", "prescribing skills", "educational interventions" for articles published since 2016. RESULTS: 3595 records were identified, and 115 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Eighty full-text articles were eligible and included in this review. Thirty-seven studies focused on improving prescribing skills, whilst 43 targeted pharmacological knowledge. A broad range of interventions was implemented, including e-learning, case-based, interprofessional, and experiential learning. Pharmacological knowledge and prescribing skills were measured in various ways, and all studies reported one or more positive findings at Kirkpatrick level 1 or 2. No study reported outcomes at Kirkpatrick levels 3 and 4. DISCUSSION: The World Health Organisation's Good Guide to Prescribing was the foundation of the development of prescribing educational interventions. Emerging interventions such as experiential and interprofessional learning should be incorporated into the prescribing curriculum. Innovative approaches such as game-based learning can be considered for clinical pharmacology teaching. However, there was a lack of outcomes at Kirkpatrick levels 3 and 4. Robust methodology and reliable outcome measures are also needed in future studies.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/175745