Abstract
In 2007 a newspaper1 proclaimed that ‘Junior doctors “risk lives with prescriptions”?‘. Clearly, concerns about the prescribing of junior doctors are no longer restricted to professional reports or journals.2,3 These and our own concerns were the trigger for our project.
Safe prescribing requires both technical (e.g. in the choice of drug) and non-technical (e.g. communication and anticipating risk) skills. Any instrument looking at prescribing performance must address both aspects. The 360° approach is regularly used to assess both the generic and clinical skills of doctors,4,5 through gathering feedback from colleagues. We considered that a 360° approach could be useful for supporting junior doctors. The aim was to develop a tool that could identify specific prescribing shortcomings in performance and allow appropriate targeted support.
Safe prescribing requires both technical (e.g. in the choice of drug) and non-technical (e.g. communication and anticipating risk) skills. Any instrument looking at prescribing performance must address both aspects. The 360° approach is regularly used to assess both the generic and clinical skills of doctors,4,5 through gathering feedback from colleagues. We considered that a 360° approach could be useful for supporting junior doctors. The aim was to develop a tool that could identify specific prescribing shortcomings in performance and allow appropriate targeted support.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 195-200 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Clinical Teacher |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 19 Aug 2009 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2009 |