Exploring the Role of Pharmacists in Medical Student Training for the Prescribing Safety Assessment (original) (raw)
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Pharmacy, 2018
Five years after the introduction of the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) in the UK, the role pharmacists play to help prepare medical students for this challenge is uncertain. Our study explored pharmacists’ perceptions about their role in undergraduate medical training for the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA). One hundred and seventy-nine prospective participants from UK hospitals and education and training boards were emailed an interview schedule aimed at ascertaining their current involvement in undergraduate medical education, particularly the preparation for PSA. Responses received via email were thematically-analysed. A total of 27 hospital pharmacists and 3 pharmacists from local education and training boards participated in the interviews. Pharmacists were positive about their involvement in medical student training, recognising the added value they could provide in prescribing practice. However, respondents expressed concerns regarding resource availability and the ...
Pharmacy
Undergraduate medical education has been criticised for failing to adequately prepare doctors for the task of prescribing. Pharmacists have been shown to improve medication use in hospitals. This study aims to elicit the views of intern doctors on the challenges of prescribing, and to suggest changes in education to enhance prescribing practice and potential role of the pharmacist. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with intern doctors in their first year post qualification in an Irish hospital. Data collection was conducted until no new themes emerged and thematic analysis was performed. Thirteen interviews took place. Interns described training in practical prescribing as limited and felt the curriculum failed to convey the reality of actual prescribing. Pharmacists were perceived to be a useful, but underutilised, information source in the prescribing process. They requested an earlier introduction, and repeated exposure, to prescribing, and suggested the involvement of peers and pharmacists in this teaching. Intern doctors reported difficulties in applying knowledge gained in medical school to clinical practice. New strategies are needed to enhance the clinical relevance of the medical curriculum by rethinking the learning outcomes regarding prescribing practice and the involvement of pharmacists in prescribing education.
Preparing hospital pharmacists to prescribe: stakeholders’ views of postgraduate courses
International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 2012
Objectives To explore pharmacy stakeholders’ views on developing a postgraduate course to prepare hospital pharmacists for collaborative prescribing in Australia. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with pharmacy stakeholders from universities, hospitals and professional organisations (n = 25) to gather views on the content, structure and delivery methods of a possible postgraduate prescribing course for pharmacists. Transcripts were analysed thematically and coded using NVivo software. Key findings There was strong support for collaborative prescribing as an appropriate role for advanced pharmacist practitioners and acknowledgement that further training is needed to implement this new role. It was proposed that postgraduate training for hospital pharmacists should be based on a national prescribing competency framework and participants highlighted key aspects of the prescribing process in which pharmacists need particular up-skilling: diagnosis, physical assessments, ...
Teaching safe prescribing to medical students: perspectives in the UK
Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 2015
Prescribing is a characteristic role of a medical practitioner. On graduating from medical school, students are presumed to have acquired the necessary pharmacology knowledge underpinning the therapeutics and developed their personal skills and behaviors in order to write a safe and effective prescription (The Four Ps). However, there are reports of errors in medical prescribing and dissatisfied feedback from recent graduates, which evidence potential flaws in the current training in the practice of prescribing. We examine the Four Ps from a systems approach and offer scope for educators and curriculum designers to review and reflect on their current undergraduate teaching, learning, and assessment strategies in a similar manner. We also adopt a national framework of common competencies required of all prescribers to remain effective and safe in their area of practice as a more objective layer to the broader learning outcomes of the General Medical Council Tomorrow's Doctors 2009. This exercise demonstrates where standard, recognized competencies for safe prescribing can be accommodated pedagogically within existing medical curricula.
Pharmacy Education, 2019
The Prescribers Survey Report 2016 identified 3,944 annotated pharmacist prescribers on the General Pharmaceutical Council register in 2015 with 2,567 independent prescribers, 425 are supplementary prescribers and 952 are both. This survey-based study evaluated the perceptions of University of Wolverhampton Master of Pharmacy students about pharmacist independent prescribing. Ethics clearance was granted by the School of Pharmacy Ethics Board. A link to an online survey was sent to all students enrolled in the Master of Pharmacy course. The anonymous data analysed thematically. Cohort-dependant variations were identified, with Year 1 and 2 students more informed about independent prescribing and including it in their career plans. Students in Year 3 and 4 were more likely to pursue the career if it was appealing after graduation. This may be due to the course workload in Year 3 and 4 plus another year of internship, making further study unappealing at that time.
Learning to prescribe - pharmacists' experiences of supplementary prescribing training in England
BMC medical education, 2008
The introduction of non-medical prescribing for professions such as pharmacy and nursing in recent years offers additional responsibilities and opportunities but attendant training issues. In the UK and in contrast to some international models, becoming a non-medical prescriber involves the completion of an accredited training course offered by many higher education institutions, where the skills and knowledge necessary for prescribing are learnt. Aims: to explore pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of learning to prescribe on supplementary prescribing (SP) courses, particularly in relation to inter-professional learning, course content and subsequent use of prescribing in practice.
Pharmacy Student Perceptions of Pharmacist Prescribing: A Comparison Study
Pharmacy, 2013
Several jurisdictions throughout the world, such as the UK and Canada, now have independent prescribing by pharmacists. In some areas of Canada, initial access prescribing can be done by pharmacists. In contrast, Australian pharmacists have no ability to prescribe either in a supplementary or independent model. Considerable research has been completed regarding attitudes towards pharmacist prescribing from the perspective of health care professionals, however currently no literature exists regarding pharmacy student views on prescribing. The primary objective of this study is to examine pharmacy student"s opinions and attitudes towards pharmacist prescribing in two different settings. Focus groups were conducted with selected students from two universities (one in Canada and one in Australia). Content analysis was conducted. Four main themes were identified: benefits, fears, needs and pharmacist roles. Students from the Australian University were more accepting of the role of supplementary prescribing. In contrast, the Canadian students felt that independent prescribing was moving the profession in the right direction. There were a number of similarities with the two groups with regards to benefits and fears. Although the two cohorts differed in terms of their beliefs on many aspects of prescribing, there were similarities in terms of fears of physician backlash and blurring of professional roles.
Pharmacy World & Science, 2008
Objective To investigate the challenges experienced by pharmacists in delivering supplementary prescribing (SP) services, to explore their perceptions of benefits of SP and to obtain feedback on both SP training and implementation. Method A postal questionnaire focusing on prescribing training, early experiences of prescribing and general demographics was sent in September to November 2005 to all SP pharmacists (n = 488) in Great Britain after excluding a pilot sample (n = 30). The biggest benefits and challenges of SP, and reasons for not practising SP, were identified. Responses to a general open question were content analysed for major themes. Key findings A total of 401 responses (82.2%) was received; 195 (48.6%) had started practising SP of which 154 (79%) had written at least one prescription. This paper focuses primarily on perceived benefits and challenges to the implementation of SP, and the responses to the open question. Better patient management (n = 58; 29.7%) was identified as the main benefit of SP and inadequate funding (n = 27; 13.8%) as the biggest challenge in delivering SP service. The main reasons for not commencing SP were: no organisational recognition of SP (n = 37; 18%); lack of funding (n = 33; 16%); non-availability of prescription pads (n = 22; 10.7%), and change of jobs (n = 18; 8.7%). The comments to the open question (n = 145; 36.2%) were regarding: SP training; perceived benefits of SP; and barriers to SP. Respondents highlighted the need for greater emphasis on clinical skills development as part of the SP course. Conclusion Despite optimism among SP pharmacists, the need for support in terms of infrastructure and integration into the healthcare team has been identified. Our findings also inform the need for modifications in the structure, content and delivery of the prescribing course for pharmacists. Greater publicity of pharmacists' roles in medication management, support from the medical profession and healthcare organisations, and high standards by early practitioners are warranted for the success of SP by pharmacists.
Junior doctors prescribing: enhancing their learning in practice
Methods Multiple methods study including face-to-face and telephone interviews, questionnaires, and secondary data from a safe prescribing assessment (n=284). Three medical schools with differing curricula and cohorts: Newcastle (systemsbased, integrated curriculum); Warwick (graduate entry) and Glasgow (problembased learning (PBL)), with graduates entering F1 in their local deanery. The primary sample consisted of final year medical students, stratified by academic quartile (n=65) from each of the three UK medical schools. In addition an anonymous cohort questionnaire was distributed at each site (n=480), triangulating interviews were conducted with 92 clinicians and questionnaire data was collected from 80 clinicians who had worked with F1s. Results Data from the primary sample and cohort data highlighted that graduates entering F1 felt under-prepared for prescribing. However there was improvement over the F1 year through practical experience and support. Triangulating data reinforced the primary sample findings. Participants reported that learning in an applied setting would be helpful and increase confidence in prescribing. No clear differences were found in preparedness to prescribe between graduates of the three medical schools. Conclusion The results form part of a larger study 'Are medical graduates fully prepared for practice?' Prescribing was found to be the weakest area of practice in all sources of data. There is a need for more applied learning to develop skill-based, applied aspects of prescribing which would help to improve preparedness for prescribing.