Development of Perceived Pharmacological Deficits of Medical Students and Alumni Supports Claim for Continuous and More Application-Oriented Education

Medical students' prescribing competencies are insufficient. So far, surveys focused on final-year students. Knowledge and confidence seem important, but their development during medical studies are unclear. This study investigated whether students perceived deficits in pharmacological knowledge change during medical studies. Alumni were included to look for changes occurring after graduation. Medical students at different stages of their studies were invited to fill in paper-and-pencil (6th-, 8th-, 9th- and 10th-term students) or online questionnaires (final-year students and alumni) regarding their self-assessed deficits in pharmacology. Questionnaires have been developed based on previous interviews with 10th-term students. We differentiated between declarative and application-oriented knowledge. In total, data from 816 participants could be analysed. Self-assessment regarding declarative knowledge changed during medical studies, being more sceptical in terms without pharmacology courses. Of note, self-assessment of application-oriented knowledge remained constantly low throughout, although our pharmacology courses use problem-based learning. Tenth-term students were most sceptical, perhaps influenced by an obligatory, formative, simulation-based, 1-week course, preparing students for their final practical year. Compared to students, alumni were significantly less sceptical regarding application-oriented knowledge. Students' self-assessment of deficits in pharmacological knowledge changes throughout their studies, presumably in association with pharmacology courses. Overall, students are rather sceptical, especially with regard to application-oriented knowledge. Our data further substantiate the European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT) recommendations to improve pharmacology education throughout the entire medical curriculum, e.g. by providing more training in simulated and clinical environments.