Assessing the readiness and confidence of 4th–year University of Notre Dame, Sydney medical students to prescribe effectively

Abstract

Prescribing is a well-known source of anxiety and perceived weakness for graduating medical students. Fourth-year medical students at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney tested a learning tool designed to assess students’ confidence in prescribing. The study results show that students performed significantly better in topics that had previously been formally taught. All of the students who completed the post-survey found the learning tool useful. The results support the need for greater emphasis on prescribing and pharmacology teaching in the clinical years of the medical curriculum