Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24698099›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2014

A comparison of medical and pharmacy students' knowledge and skills of pharmacology and pharmacotherapy.

Carolina J P W Keijsers, Jacobus R B J Brouwers, Dick J de Wildt, Eugene J F M Custers, Olle Th J Ten Cate, Ankie C M Hazen, Paul A F Jansen

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Carolina J P W KeijsersDepartment of Geriatric Medicine and Expertise Centre Pharmacotherapy in Old Persons, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Geriatric Medicine, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
Jacobus R B J Brouwers
Dick J de Wildt
Eugene J F M Custers
Olle Th J Ten Cate
Ankie C M Hazen
Paul A F Jansen

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimPharmacotherapy might be improved if future pharmacists and physicians receive a joint educational programme in pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics. This study investigated whether there are differences in the pharmacology and pharmacotherapy knowledge and skills of pharmacy and medical students after their undergraduate training. Differences could serve as a starting point from which to develop joint interdisciplinary educational programmes for better prescribing.

methodsIn a cross-sectional design, the knowledge and skills of advanced pharmacy and medical students were assessed, using a standardized test with three domains (basic pharmacology knowledge, clinical or applied pharmacology knowledge and pharmacotherapy skills) and eight subdomains (pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, interactions and side-effects, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification groups, prescribing, prescribing for special groups, drug information, regulations and laws, prescription writing).

resultsFour hundred and fifty-one medical and 151 pharmacy students were included between August 2010 and July 2012. The response rate was 81%. Pharmacy students had better knowledge of basic pharmacology than medical students (77.0% vs. 68.2% correct answers; P < 0.001, δ = 0.88), whereas medical students had better skills than pharmacy students in writing prescriptions (68.6% vs. 50.7%; P < 0.001, δ = 0.57). The two groups of students had similar knowledge of applied pharmacology (73.8% vs. 72.2%, P = 0.124, δ = 0.15).

conclusionsPharmacy students have better knowledge of basic pharmacology, but not of the application of pharmacology knowledge, than medical students, whereas medical students are better at writing prescriptions. Professional differences in knowledge and skills therefore might well stem from their undergraduate education. Knowledge of these differences could be harnessed to develop a joint interdisciplinary education for both students and professionals.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceKnowledgePharmacologyStudents, MedicalStudents, PharmacyAdultCross-Sectional StudiesDrug TherapyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Agededucationinterdisciplinarymedical studentpharmacy studentundergraduate

Identifiers

PMID24698099
PMCPMC4239972

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.