Developing confidence in basic prescribing skills during medical school: a longitudinal questionnaire study investigating the effects of a modified clinical pharmacology course

PURPOSE: To investigate if increased focus on pharmacotherapy during medical school can increase students’ confidence in basic prescribing skills, that is, performing medication reviews and writing medication discharge summaries. METHODS: In 2016, the clinical pharmacology course in medical school in Gothenburg, Sweden, was modified to facilitate the students’ acquisition of prescribing skills, with (i) clarified learning outcomes; (ii) supply of a list of common drugs for self-completion; (iii) instructions to practice medication reviews/discharge summaries during the ward-based education; and (iv) a concluding compulsory seminar where the students were to present prescribing-related experiences from their ward-based attendance. Questionnaires were administered to students participating in the course before (2016; n = 101) and after (2017; n = 137) implementation of the modifications. Students were asked to grade their agreement from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree) on statements related to their perceived confidence in basic prescribing skills. RESULTS: In all, 195 students returned the questionnaire (response rate 82%; median age 24 years; 68% female). Confidence was rated higher after the modifications were implemented, both regarding medication reviews and medication discharge summaries, after vs. before 3.6 ± 1.2 vs. 3.2 ± 1.0 (P = 0.024), and 4.3 ± 0.9 vs. 3.9 ± 1.1 (P = 0.008), respectively. The adjusted odds for being confident in performing these tasks were 1.49/1.36 times greater after the course modifications (P = 0.047/0.019). Perceived confidence in performing medication reviews/summary reports was positively correlated with numbers performed (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Modifications of the clinical pharmacology course during medical school, focusing on students’ training in pharmacotherapy, was associated with increased confidence of this core skill for a physician. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00228-018-2508-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.