Abstract
This study aimed to explore reasons for poor performance in prescription writing stations of the objective structured practical examination (OSPE) and absenteeism in prescription writing sessions among preclerkship medical students at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Manama, Bahrain. This descriptive study was carried out between September 2014 and June 2015 among 157 preclerkship medical students at AGU. Data were collected using focus group discussions and a questionnaire with closed- and open-ended items. All 157 students participated in the study (response rate: 100.0%). The most frequently cited reasons for poor performance in OSPE stations were an inability to select the correct drugs (79.6%), treatment duration (69.4%), drug quantity (69.4%) and drug formulation (68.2%). Additionally, students reported inadequate time for completing the stations (68.8%). During focus group discussions, students reported other reasons for poor performance, including examination stress and the difficulty of the stations. Absenteeism was attributed to the length of each session (55.4%), lack of interest (50.3%), reliance on peers for information (48.4%) and optional attendance policies (47.1%). Repetitive material, large group sessions, unmet student expectations and the proximity of the sessions to summative examinations were also indicated to contribute to absenteeism according to open-ended responses or focus group discussions. This study suggests that AGU medical students perform poorly in prescription writing OSPE stations because of inadequate clinical pharmacology knowledge. Participation in prescription writing sessions needs to be enhanced by addressing the concerns identified in this study. Strategies to improve attendance and performance should take into account the learner-teacher relationship.
Highlights
This study aimed to explore reasons for poor performance in prescription writing stations of the objective structured practical examination (OSPE) and absenteeism in prescription writing sessions among preclerkship medical students at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Manama, Bahrain
This study suggests that AGU medical students perform poorly in prescription writing OSPE stations because of inadequate clinical pharmacology knowledge
The results of this study suggest that changes should be made to the prescription writing sessions at AGU to ensure that the classes are held more frequently, are more interesting and that the material is delivered in smaller groups and in a vertically integrated manner during the subsequent clinical clerkship training in phase III of the medical programme
Summary
Abstract: Objectives: This study aimed to explore reasons for poor performance in prescription writing stations of the objective structured practical examination (OSPE) and absenteeism in prescription writing sessions among preclerkship medical students at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Manama, Bahrain. - This study sheds light on reasons for poor performance in drug-related components of prescription writing and absenteeism in prescription writing sessions among medical students at a university in Bahrain. This information is important to make any necessary changes in the medical curriculum so as to improve student participation, training and performance as rational drug prescribers. Rational drug prescribing is one of the most important competencies of health professionals as most patients require prescriptions.[1,2] prescriptions written by qualified health professionals and medical students are sometimes irrational and contain various errors.[3,4,5] It has been suggested that medical schools do not adequately train students in prescribing drugs and this can compromise patient safety.[6,7] A typical drug prescription has standard components which fall into three categories: patient-related (name, age and gender), physician-related (identity of the prescriber) and drug-related (drug name, dose, formulation, route and frequency of administration, quantity to be dispensed, duration of treatment and directions for use).[8]
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