Impact of Pharmacist-Led Prescription Writing Intervention on Undergraduate Medical Students
Pharmacy Practice
Bashayer M. AlShehail1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Zainab A. Al Jamea2Pharmaceutical Care Department, King Fahd University Hospital – Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Nouf Alotaibi3Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ali H. Sumayli4Pharmacy Department, Armed Forces Medical Services, Dhahran, 31932, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulsalam Alasseri2Pharmaceutical Care Department, King Fahd University Hospital – Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Khalid Eljaaly5Pharmacy Practice Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed Alenazi6Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal Hospital – National Guard Health Affairs, Dammam, 31412, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed M. Alsultan1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Sawsan M. Kurdi1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dhafer M. Alshayban1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Marwan Alwazzeh7Internal Medicine Department, King Fahd University Hospital – Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Sara Al-Warthan7Internal Medicine Department, King Fahd University Hospital – Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mashael Alhajri8Internal Medicine Department, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Wafa Alzlaiq1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Muna Islami9Pharmaceutical Care Division, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah, 23433, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed K. Alkhathlan10International Programs School, Ministry of Education, 34236, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mashael Almustafa2Pharmaceutical Care Department, King Fahd University Hospital – Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Zainab Al-Darorah2Pharmaceutical Care Department, King Fahd University Hospital – Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ibrahim Asiri1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Rania AlJaizani1Pharmacy Practice Department, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Background: Prescribing errors present a critical concern in practice where junior doctors initiate the majority of prescriptions. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the impact of pharmacist-led educational intervention provided to undergraduate medical students on the appropriateness and self-perceived readiness to prescribe medications. Methods: This pharmacist-led pre-and-post-intervention study included female undergraduate medical students enrolled in the prescription practice course between Oct 19 and Nov 15 2022, at King Fahad University Hospital in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The course involved three main domains: a pre-module assessment, formal training in the principles of prescription writing, and a post-module assessment. The pre-module assessment was designed to assess the students’ ability to write a prescription for a given patient scenario. After that, formal training in the principles of prescription writing was conducted, which highlighted the elements of prescription writing based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for good prescription. Finally, the post-module assessment was utilized to evaluate the knowledge the students gained during the session, asking them to re-write a prescription for the same patient scenario. Results: This study assessed one hundred twenty-four students before and after writing the prescription course. The mean score and standard deviation before the course were 8.65±2.362, and they significantly improved after the course. Their mean score after the course was 14.2±0.988 (P-value <0.001). Conclusion: The pharmacist-led prescription writing intervention for undergraduate medical students has improved their skills, knowledge, and confidence. Thus, this supports incorporating prescription writing into undergraduate medical students’ education with pharmacist involvement.
