Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29315721›Full record

SynthesisBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2018

Do final-year medical students have sufficient prescribing competencies? A systematic literature review.

David J Brinkman, Jelle Tichelaar, Sanne Graaf, René H J Otten, Milan C Richir, Michiel A van Agtmael

Open access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
10.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

78 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.

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18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

David J BrinkmanDepartment of Internal Medicine, section Pharmacotherapy, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-3816-6375
Jelle TichelaarDepartment of Internal Medicine, section Pharmacotherapy, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Sanne GraafDepartment of Internal Medicine, section Pharmacotherapy, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
René H J OttenMedical Library, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Milan C RichirDepartment of Internal Medicine, section Pharmacotherapy, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Michiel A van AgtmaelDepartment of Internal Medicine, section Pharmacotherapy, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences · NLAmsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NLVrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsPrescribing errors are an important cause of patient safety incidents and are frequently caused by junior doctors. This might be because the prescribing competence of final-year medical students is poor as a result of inadequate clinical pharmacology and therapeutic (CPT) education. We reviewed the literature to investigate which prescribing competencies medical students should have acquired in order to prescribe safely and effectively, and whether these have been attained by the time they graduate.

methodsPubMed, EMBASE and ERIC databases were searched from the earliest dates up to and including January 2017, using the terms 'prescribing', 'competence' and 'medical students' in combination. Articles describing or evaluating essential prescribing competencies of final-year medical students were included.

resultsTwenty-five articles describing, and 47 articles evaluating, the prescribing competencies of final-year students were included. Although there seems to be some agreement, we found no clear consensus among CPT teachers on which prescribing competencies medical students should have when they graduate. Studies showed that students had a general lack of preparedness, self-confidence, knowledge and skills, specifically regarding general and antimicrobial prescribing and pharmacovigilance. However, the results should be interpreted with caution, given the heterogeneity and methodological weaknesses of the included studies.

conclusionsThere is considerable evidence that final-year students have insufficient competencies to prescribe safely and effectively, although there is a need for a greater consensus among CPT teachers on the required competencies. Changes in undergraduate CPT education are urgently required in order to improve the prescribing of future doctors.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceStudents, MedicalCompetency-Based EducationDrug PrescriptionsEducational MeasurementEducation, MedicalHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMedication ErrorsPractice Patterns, Physicians'clinical pharmacologycompetencemedical curriculummedical studentpharmacotherapyprescribingtherapeutics

Identifiers

PMID29315721
PMCPMC5867102
OpenAlexW2784052063

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.