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Teaching the basics of clinical pharmaceutical care: innovative pharmacy workshops at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Nebraska.

BACKGROUND: Safe and effective prescription writing, using drug formularies, and managing pharmaceutical care are skills medical students need to acquire. Spurred by the Undergraduate Medical Education for the 21st Century (UME-21) grants, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Nebraska independently developed educational workshops to address these competencies. METHODS: The University of Wisconsin's workshop is presented to medical students at the start of their third year. They receive information from pharmacists on medication errors, prescription writing, and drug formularies. A "learners guide" summary is discussed by a physician, which brings into focus the clinical application of the didactic session. A small-group session follows with hands-on experience in writing prescriptions and using formularies for three patient case scenarios. The workshop at the University of Nebraska consists of three sessions during the third-year internal medicine clerkship. In the first session, pharmacists discuss formularies, the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (PT) committee, and the preparation of a drug monograph. During the second session, students develop an evidence-based drug monograph on a product or herbal. In the final session, the class functions as a mock PT committee, and after listening to the drug monographs, determines whether the product should be added to the formulary. We evaluated students' satisfaction with the workshops using Likert scales and assessed students' ability to correctly fill out a prescription form. RESULTS: Both workshops were well received. The mean rating at University of Wisconsin was 1.7 on a scale of 1 (satisfied) to 7 (dissatisfied), and at University of Nebraska it was 3.8 with 5 (outstanding) to 1 (unacceptable). At the University of Wisconsin, on a year-end skills assessment involving 148 students, 100% of the students properly filled out a prescription. Ninety-four percent received an excellent grade, 6% a pass, and no marginal or failing grades were given out. CONCLUSIONS: The workshop on pharmaceutical prescribing was rated favorably by students. After participating in the workshop, students acquired skills in prescription writing.

Clinical Clerkship↗

Assessing prescription writing skills of pre-clerkship medical students in a problem-based learning curriculum.

OBJECTIVE: To audit the acquisition of prescribing skills of pre-clerkship medical students in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum that incorporates a prescribing program. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Student performance in pharmacotherapy stations included in six out of eight end-of-unit-objective structured practical examinations (OSPE) was evaluated using a rating checklist. RESULTS: Prescription writing skills of 539 students (66.2% female and 33.8% male) were appraised. With the exception of refill element, the other physician-related components including prescriber's identity, date of prescription order, patient's identity, the symbol Rx "Take Thou", and prescriber's signature were written by 96.1% of the students (95% confidence interval (CI) 94.1 - 97.5). However, the drug-related components such as the appropriateness of drug(s) selected, strength, dosage form, quantity to be dispensed and directions for use were written satisfactorily by 50.2% of the students (95% CI 46.0 - 54.4). With respect to prescribing skills, the mean total score of Year 4 students did not significantly differ from that of Year 2 (69.4 (CI 65.7 - 73.1) vs. 66.3 (CI 62.7 to 69.9); p = 0.237). However, the mean scores of individual drug-related components such as appropriateness of drug(s) selected, dosage form, and direction for use were significantly higher in Year 4 than that of Year 2 students (p < 0.05). Of 381 rationally prescribed drugs, 81.1% were written with generic names. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the students acquire prescribing skills to a limited extent during the pre-clerkship phase in a PBL program. Prescribing errors and deficits were found to be mainly associated with drug-related components. Further training and assessment of prescribing skills during the clerkship and internship period are needed to achieve mastery of this skill as a terminal competency of graduating physicians.

Bahrain↗

Medical management of the unstable bladder.

Seventy incontinent female patients were diagnosed as having unstable bladders during a two-year period. The diagnosis was made with a questionnaire, carbon dioxide urethroscopy and pressure profiles according to the technique of Robertson. Forty patients were continent on medication, 11 were improved, 6 showed no improvement, 1 was on a trial of medication at this writing, and 12 were lost to follow-up. The medical management and various drugs used in the treatment of unstable bladder are discussed in this report.

Female↗

Education techniques for lifelong learning: writing multiple-choice questions for continuing medical education activities and self-assessment modules.

The multiple-choice question (MCQ) is the most commonly used type of test item in radiologic graduate medical and continuing medical education examinations. Now that radiologists are participating in the maintenance of certification process, there is an increased need for self-assessment modules that include MCQs and persons with test item-writing skills to develop such modules. Although principles of effective test item writing have been documented, violations of these principles are common in medical education. Guidelines for test construction are related to development of educational objectives, defining levels of learning for each objective, and writing effective MCQs that test that learning. Educational objectives should be written in observable, behavioral terms that allow for an accurate assessment of whether the learner has achieved the objectives. Learning occurs at many levels, from simple recall to problem solving. The educational objectives and the MCQs that accompany them should target all levels of learning appropriate for the given content. Characteristics of effective MCQs can be described in terms of the overall item, the stem, and the options. Flawed MCQs interfere with accurate and meaningful interpretation of test scores and negatively affect student pass rates. Therefore, to develop reliable and valid tests, items must be constructed that are free of such flaws. The article provides an overview of established guidelines for writing effective MCQs, a discussion of writing appropriate educational objectives and MCQs that match those objectives, and a brief review of item analysis.

Education, Continuing↗

Minimising computer script errors.

With increasing awareness of informatics and the advantages it can bring, more and more general practitioners are computerising their practices. Many of them are using computer packages for script writing. Invariably with the expanding repertoire, come errors in writing computer scripts and the following article sets some of the main areas in which errors occur and how to correct them. As Medical Director is the most commonly used software for writing medical scripts, it has been used as the example in showing how to write correct scripts.

Australia↗

Fellowship training in academic general internal medicine: a curriculum survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether current fellowships in general internal medicine (FGIM) meet the perceived needs and objectives of physicians entering careers in academic internal medicine. DESIGN: A modified Delphi method yielded the 18 curricular elements included in the mailed survey. Participants outlined both actual and ideal fellowship experiences by rating the degree of emphasis of each curricular element on a Likert scale. Respondents then prioritized elements by rank-ordering them on perceived importance. Current job descriptions and opinions on related issues in FGIM were collected. PARTICIPANTS: Potential fellows, current fellows, and recent graduates were surveyed. Individuals were identified through the Society of General Internal Medicine associates' mailing list and solicitation of program directors. Nonfellow associates served as the proxy group for potential fellows. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 579 surveys were mailed; 348 (60%) responses were received, of which 288 (50%) were suitable for analysis. Of all respondents, 38% were current fellows and 40% were recent graduates. When asked to prioritize educational needs during fellowship training, respondents ranked research methodology, ambulatory medicine, critical review of the literature, epidemiology, biostatistics, teaching skills, medical consultation, grant writing, preventive medicine, and design of educational curriculum as the top ten. Only minor deviations in rank order were found between graduates and nongraduates. Mean Likert scale scores for degree of emphasis of each curricular element in graduates' actual fellowships were compared with mean scores for graduates' ideal fellowship descriptions. High-priority elements that were perceived as adequately emphasized included research methodology, critical analysis of the literature, epidemiology, and biostatistics. High-priority elements that were perceived as inadequately emphasized included ambulatory medicine, teaching skills, medical consultation, grant writing, preventive medicine, and design of educational curricula. CONCLUSIONS: FGIM largely meet the expectations of their fellows for preparation for research responsibilities. However, several curricular elements concerned with preparation for future clinical and teaching responsibilities are perceived by graduates as underemphasized. These areas deserve increased emphasis during fellowship training to better prepare fellows for their future roles in academic general internal medicine.

Adult↗

How graduate nurses use protocols to manage patients' medications.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine how graduate nurses use protocols in their medication management activities. The objectives were to: examine the extent of adherence to various protocols in relation to medication activities and determine how the ward environment impacts on graduate nurses' use of protocols to manage patients' medications. BACKGROUND: Protocols help newly qualified nurses integrate new knowledge into practice and promote effective decision-making Design. A descriptive prospective qualitative design was used. Methods. Twelve graduate nurses involved in direct patient care in medical, surgical and specialty wards of a metropolitan teaching hospital participated in the study. Participant observations were conducted with the graduate nurses during a two-hour period when medications were being administered to patients. In-depth interviews were conducted with each nurse immediately after observations and demographic data were collected on participating nurses and patients in their care, including all medications prescribed. Protocols associated with medication management activities for the clinical settings were also transcribed. RESULTS: Six themes were evident from the data: availability and use of protocols, scrutinizing patients' identity before medication administration, double-checking certain medications before administration, writing incident reports, following specific policies and timing the administration of medications. CONCLUSION: Graduate nurses adhered to protocols if they were perceived not to impede with other nursing activities. Participants were also more likely to follow protocols if they felt encouraged to make their own decisions and if there was a decreased likelihood that disciplinary action would be involved. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Experienced health professionals should encourage graduate nurses to comply with medication protocols and to make clinically reasoned decisions about medication activities. By providing peer support and acting as role models, experienced health professionals can also demonstrate to graduate nurses how effective protocol use is an important component of quality patient care.

Adult↗