Better performance of medical students on pharmacotherapy knowledge and skills tests is associated with practising with e‐learning program P‐scribe

Abstract

Aims Junior doctors write most hospital prescriptions, yet are more than twice as likely to make an error in their prescriptions compared to senior doctors. A possibility to enhance pharmacotherapy education is through the use of e‐learning modules. The aim of this study was to determine whether P‐scribe, as the chosen e‐learning resource, helps students in passing their pharmacotherapy assessments. Methods This retrospective study was undertaken in the Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands. All 270 medical students who started their master's curriculum in the academic session of 2017–2018 were included. Data were analysed to identify the frequency of student's use per e‐learning module, total time students spent on e‐learning modules and timing of the use of e‐learning modules in relation to their assessments. The results of the assessments were analysed to identify possible correlations between the time students spent using P‐scribe, their timing of use and their assessment results. Results Students who passed their knowledge‐based assessment first time had a mean practice time of five more hours than students who did not pass first time (P < .05, 95% CI: 3.4–6.6). These students practised on average six e‐learning modules more (P < .05, 95% CI: 4.1–7.0) than students who failed their first attempt. Students who passed their skill‐based prescription test first time, practised on average five more e‐learning modules (P = .006, 95% CI: 1.4–8.3) than students who failed their first attempt. Conclusion Students who passed their pharmacotherapy assessments first time spent more time, and practised more frequently, with e‐learning modules.

Student Perception of Knowledge and Skills in Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy in a Bachelor’s Medical Curriculum

“…In fact, in another study, we show that first-year students have suboptimal knowledge in pharmacokinetics, a subdomain of P&PT [10]. An opportunity to do the same for various drug groups could be the Dutch Pharmacotherapy Exam [32], where knowledge of various drug groups as well as rational pharmacotherapy is examined.…”

“…Early initiation and continued training of prescribing skills are therefore essential to developing prescribing competence in later years [5,14]. Unfortunately, the use of the digital platform PScribe, which is ideal for training prescribing skills [32], is not overwhelming. For this, a follow-up evaluation inquiring into the reasons behind students' hesitation to use this platform is required.…”

“…Topics that students consider difficult are more frequently quizzed than other topics. Besides this, the Dutch national pharmacotherapy assessment has been introduced at the UMCU in the master's phase [32]. This is a national exam, similar to the prescribing safety assessment in the UK [37].…”