Background and Aim

Medication prescribing remains one of the leading causes of preventable patient harm among newly qualified doctors. Although the UK Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) has strengthened undergraduate prescribing education, many final-year medical students continue to report low confidence when prescribing high-risk medications encountered during the transition to Foundation training. This quality improvement project aimed to improve prescribing confidence and preparedness through a structured, multidisciplinary transition-to-practice educational programme.

Materials and Methods

Twenty-five final-year medical students undertaking clinical placements at Eastbourne District General Hospital participated in a six-session prescribing programme. Teaching focused on patient safety, anticoagulation, insulin and intravenous fluids, antibiotics, opioids, and a practical prescribing workshop using SmartDrug within PebblePad. Sessions incorporated case-based discussions, PSA-style prescribing exercises, simulation, and small-group interactive learning. Nineteen students completed retrospective pre- and post-intervention confidence questionnaires together with qualitative feedback.

Results

Mean self-reported prescribing confidence increased from 5.37/10 before the programme to 8.47/10 following completion, representing an average improvement of 3.10 points. All respondents (19/19) rated the programme as helpful or very helpful. Qualitative feedback consistently highlighted the practical relevance of the curriculum, multidisciplinary teaching, interactive learning and improved preparedness for Foundation practice. Students particularly valued opportunities to apply prescribing knowledge within realistic clinical scenarios.

Conclusions

A structured transition-to-practice prescribing programme significantly improved final-year medical students' confidence and perceived readiness for safe prescribing. Embedding multidisciplinary, clinically focused prescribing education within undergraduate curricula may strengthen prescribing competence, improve patient safety and better support the transition from medical student to junior doctor. This educational model is scalable and readily transferable to other medical schools and healthcare organisations.