Abstract
Objectives:To assess the knowledge of final year medical students in Nigeria, about good prescribing and the application of this knowledge to their prescribing skills.Materials and Methods:Thirty four final year medical students of the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja, were interviewed with a structured questionnaire that assessed their knowledge on the principles of good prescribing. They were also requested to write a prescription, based on a paediatric clinical scenario of malaria and upper respiratory tract infection. The prescription was used to assess their prescribing skills.Results:Thirty one (91.18%) students knew that rational prescribing involved prescribing correct dosage of an appropriate medicine formulation. Factors considered important by the students to prescribe rationally were: Potential benefit: risk ratio of a medicine - 33 (97.06%); good knowledge of pharmacology - 29 (85.29%) and pathophysiology of the disease to be treated - 24 (70.59%); and safety of an alternative medicine to be used - 24 (70.59%). An average of 3.71 medicines was prescribed for a child suspected to have malaria. Antimalarials (38.24%) and paracetamol (20%) were the most frequently prescribed medicines. The name and signature of the prescriber were available in 51.61% and 58.06% prescriptions, respectively. Less than 50% prescriptions had the name, case file number, age and gender of the patient.Conclusion:The final year medical students of LASUCOM would require theoretical and practical teaching of principles of rational prescribing to improve their prescribing knowledge and skills.
Highlights
Evidence of poor prescribing is abundant in Nigeria.[1]
Out of 37 students, 34 consented to participate in the study. They were interviewed with a structured questionnaire, which was filled on the spot. They were requested to write a prescription based on a paediatric clinical scenario of malaria and upper respiratory tract infection, since these ailments are very common in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries.[12,13]
Knowledge of good prescribing The 34 medical students who took part gave a response rate of 91.89%. Their mean age was 28.09 ± 2.24 years, with male : female ratio being 0.54 : 1. A good number of the students were able to identify the components of rational prescribing
Summary
Evidence of poor prescribing is abundant in Nigeria.[1] Antimalarials and antibiotics are prescribed for children, with little regard for resistance and adverse drug reaction development.[1,2] Prescription errors are very common,[3,4] especially with fresh doctors.[5] The basic problem which contributes to the irrational prescribing is that the medical students are not adequately instructed.[6] Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics is taught in only a few of the Nigerian medical schools Where it is taught, the knowledge imparted is only theoretical. Those who are ill-equipped in rational prescribing continue to make medication errors
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