Transl Clin Pharmacol.  2018 Sep;26(3):128-133. 10.12793/tcp.2018.26.3.128.

Survey on the undergraduate curriculum in clinical pharmacology and interns' prescribing ability in South Korea

• Gu N
• Kim KJ
• Lim CY
• Lee JK
• Rhee MY
• Shin KH
• Lee SH
• Ahn S

• KMID: 2420295
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12793/tcp.2018.26.3.128

Abstract

Appropriate prescription writing is one of the critical medical processes affecting the quality of public health care. However, this is a complex task for newly qualified intern doctors because of its complex characteristics requiring sufficient knowledge of medications and principles of clinical pharmacology, skills of diagnosis and communication, and critical judgment. This study aims to gather data on the current status of undergraduate prescribing education in South Korea. Two surveys were administered in this study: survey A to 26 medical schools in South Korea to gather information on the status of undergraduate education in clinical pharmacology; and survey B to 244 intern doctors in large hospitals to gather their opinions regarding prescribing education and ability. In survey A, half of the responding institutions provided prescribing education via various formats of classes over two curriculums including lecture, applied practice, group discussions, computer-utilized training, and workshops. In survey B, we found that intern doctors have the least confidence when prescribing drugs for special patient populations, especially pregnant women. These intern doctors believed that a case-based practical training or group discussion class would be an effective approach to supplement their prescribing education concurrently or after the clerkship in medical schools or right before starting intern training with a core drug list. The results of the present study may help instructors in charge of prescribing education when communicating and cooperating with each other to improve undergraduate prescribing education and the quality of national medical care.

Keyword

Clinical pharmacology; Intern; Medical education; Prescription; Survey

MeSH Terms

Curriculum*
Diagnosis
Education
Education, Medical
Female
Group Practice
Humans
Judgment
Korea*
Pharmacology, Clinical*
Pregnant Women
Prescriptions
Public Health
Schools, Medical
Writing

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