Prescribing Pitfalls in General Practice/Family Medicine

Students at the University of Limerick School of Medicine undergo a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) lasting 18 weeks in General Practice/Primary Care during the third year of the program. Due to COVID-19, the LIC was prematurely ended at 10 weeks. The faculty wished to provide patient-centered teaching and learning to mitigate for the time lost in clinical practice. During the LIC, students frequently undertake reviews of patients’ medication. This session was part of a wider program designed to provide opportunities for students to discuss important aspects of Primary Care medicine. This session was planned to provide multiple examples of common prescription errors and issues. Real patient data was used to create the cases. Twenty short cases were presented to students who had an opportunity to discuss the prescription and any issues that arose. Clinical pearls were generated and learning points were highlighted. There was a high level of student engagement. This resource could easily be replicated for other specialties.