ArticleBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2013
Junior doctors' perceptions of their self-efficacy in prescribing, their prescribing errors and the possible causes of errors.
Article in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A conceptual model of factors potentially influencing prescribing decisions for chronic conditions: an overview of systematic reviews.BMC medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of prescriber education on medication-related patient harm in the hospital: a systematic review.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2017Pooled it
- Which non-technical skills do junior doctors require to prescribe safely? A systematic review.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2015Pooled it
- Trial
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Antibiotic Prescribing Among Arab Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.International dental journal · 2026Article
- Self-Reported Medical Errors and Primary Care Physicians' Performance and Confidence in Delivering Care: A Multilevel Empirical Study in China.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Determining the psychometric properties of a written test to assess safe dental practice.BMJ open quality · 2024Article
- ePrescribing-Based Antimicrobial Stewardship Practices in an English National Health Service Hospital: Qualitative Interview Study Among Medical Prescribers and Pharmacists.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Prescribing errors in a Brazilian teaching hospital: Causes and underlying factors from the perspective of junior doctors.PloS one · 2023Article
- Profile and predictors of high school teachers' attitude and self-efficacy in utilizing ICT: an investigation from Indonesia.SN social sciences · 2023Article
- Impact of Pharmacist-Directed Medication Reconciliation in Reducing Medication Discrepancies: A Randomized Controlled Trial.The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy · 2022Article
- Hospital pharmacists' experiences of participating in a partnered pharmacist medication charting credentialing program: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Prescribing errors by junior doctors- A comparison of errors with high risk medicines and non-high risk medicines.PloS one · 2019Article
- Consequence of delegating medication-related tasks from physician to clinical pharmacist in an acute admission unit: an analytical study.European journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice · 2017Article
- A Licence to Prescribe.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2017Article
- A multifaceted intervention to reduce drug-related complications in surgical patients.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2017Article
- How prepared are UK medical graduates for practice? A rapid review of the literature 2009-2014.BMJ open · 2017Review
- Development and evaluation of a pocket card to support prescribing by junior doctors in an English hospital.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2015Article
- Online survey on subjective and objective competency in clinical pharmacology skills among final year Australian medical students: a pilot study.Therapeutic advances in chronic disease · 2014Article
- Exploring the causes of junior doctors' prescribing mistakes: a qualitative study.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimsThe aim of the study was to explore and compare junior doctors' perceptions of their self-efficacy in prescribing, their prescribing errors and the possible causes of those errors.
methodsA cross-sectional questionnaire study was distributed to foundation doctors throughout Scotland, based on Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and Human Error Theory (HET).
resultsFive hundred and forty-eight questionnaires were completed (35.0% of the national cohort). F1s estimated a higher daytime error rate [median 6.7 (IQR 2-12.4)] than F2s [4.0 IQR (0-10) (P = 0.002)], calculated based on the total number of medicines prescribed. The majority of self-reported errors (250, 49.2%) resulted from unintentional actions. Interruptions and pressure from other staff were commonly cited causes of errors. F1s were more likely to report insufficient prescribing skills as a potential cause of error than F2s (P = 0.002). The prescribers did not believe that the outcomes of their errors were serious. F2s reported higher self-efficacy scores than F1s in most aspects of prescribing (P < 0.001).
conclusionFoundation doctors were aware of their prescribing errors, yet were confident in their prescribing skills and apparently complacent about the potential consequences of prescribing errors. Error causation is multi-factorial often due to environmental factors, but with lack of knowledge also contributing. Therefore interventions are needed at all levels, including environmental changes, improving knowledge, providing feedback and changing attitudes towards the role of prescribing as a major influence on patient outcome.
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