title: Rational pharmacotherapy training for fourth-year medical students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study we aimed to evaluate the impact of Rational Pharmacotherapy (RPT) course program, reinforced by video footages, on the rational pharmacotherapy skills of the students.
  
  
  METHODS
  RPT course program has been conducted in Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine since 2008/9. The course has been organised in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Prescribing Guide. The aim of the course was to improve the problem solving skills (methodology for selection of the (p)ersonel-drug, prescription writing and informing patient about his illness and drugs) and communication skills of students. The impact of the course has been measured by pre/post-test design by an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). In academic year 2010/11, to further improve OSCE score of the students we added doctor-patient communication video footages to the RPT course programme. During training, the students were asked to evaluate the doctor-patient communication and prescription on two video footages using a checklist followed by group discussions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total post-test OSCE score was significantly higher for 2010/11 academic year students (n = 147) than it was for 2009/10 year students (n = 131). The 2010/11 academic year students performed significantly better than the 2009/10 academic year students on four steps of OSCE. These steps were "defining the patient's problem", "specifying the therapeutic objective", "specifying the non-pharmacological treatment" and "choosing a (drug) treatment, taking all relevant patient characteristics into account".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study demonstrated that the implementation of video footages and group discussions to WHO/Good Prescribing Method improved the fourth-year medical students' performance in rational pharmacotherapy skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Dokuz Eylul University, School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayse
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gelal
authors.forename: Mukaddes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gumustekin
authors.forename: M Aylin
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Arici
authors.forename: Sedef
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gidener
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003142:Communication; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013337:Students, Medical; D014743:Videotape Recording
keywords: Education; medical students; rational pharmacotherapy; rational prescribing skills; video footages
references.citation: Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1998 Nov-Dec;54(9-10):685-9
references.pmid: 9923568
references.citation: Med J Aust. 2008 Jan 21;188(2):89-94
references.pmid: 18205581
references.citation: Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Nov;47(11):671-8
references.pmid: 19840531
references.citation: Qual Saf Health Care. 2002 Dec;11(4):340-4
references.pmid: 12468694
references.citation: Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2008 Oct;84(4):513-6
references.pmid: 19238657
references.citation: Pan Afr Med J. 2011;9:13
references.pmid: 22145057
references.citation: BMC Med Educ. 2005 Jul 19;5:28
references.pmid: 16029509
references.citation: Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2007 Dec;101(6):395-400
references.pmid: 17927690
references.citation: Lancet. 2002 Apr 20;359(9315):1373-8
references.pmid: 11978334
references.citation: Lancet. 1995 Dec 2;346(8988):1454-7
references.pmid: 7490991
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2008 Jul;66(1):128-34
references.pmid: 18492128
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2012 Feb;73(2):194-202
references.pmid: 21752067
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Jun;67(6):662-70
references.pmid: 19594535
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Jun;67(6):656-61
references.pmid: 19594534
references.citation: Med Educ. 2003 May;37(5):434-7
references.pmid: 12709185
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2011 Jan;71(1):29-33
references.pmid: 21143498
references.citation: Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2005 Oct;61(9):643-50
references.pmid: 16187133
references.citation: Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2004 Apr;60(2):75-82
references.pmid: 15042352
references.citation: Health Policy Plan. 1999 Jun;14(2):89-102
references.pmid: 10538724
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2009 Jun;67(6):629-40
references.pmid: 19094162