Demonstrating prescribing competence: A successful pilot of a prescription competency curriculum for family medicine residents

Background: Poor medication prescribing skills among residents have been widely reported. Methods: We implemented a three-stage prescribing curriculum with eight interns in an urban family medicine residency. Clinical pharmacy faculty delivered two lectures, attended hospital rounds, and coprecepted in clinic. Evaluations were done by a written exam and clinical assessment. Results: All eight interns made at least one prescribing error on the exam. One error was considered potentially fatal. All interns passed on the second attempt and gained prescribing privileges after 6 months. Conclusions: Our prescribing curriculum was practical and feasible. Further studies will determine whether the intervention improved prescribing habits and reduced clinical errors.