A representation of College of Pharmacy faculty participated in ‘Prescribing Skills Assessment Workshop 2019’ organized by British Pharmacological Society (BPS) at Dubai Pharmacy College on January 30, 2019. Professor Simon Maxwell, Medical Director of Prescribing Safety Assessment, BPS presented the challenges in the delivery of effective prescribing in a modern healthcare environment. Medication errors’ incidence and strategies for prevention of medication errors were discussed with respect to the healthcare environment. Prof. Maxwell emphasized that use of technology and Clinical Pharmacy services are essential in addressing the rising medication errors.
Effective education and training of prescribers on medication safety is one of the means with which medication errors can be minimized. Prof. Maxwell demonstrated the ‘Prescribing skills assessment platform’ developed by BPS. This tool is used for online education and assessment of the skills, clinical judgment and supporting knowledge related to prescribing medicines.
Dean Khalifa commented: The Prescribing Skills Assessment will be used for all GMU pharmacy students in year 4 and 5. The aim is to improve their prescribing skills and make them more ready for clinical pharmacy roles within UAE and internationally. College of Pharmacy Preceptors will also take the test as part of their faculty development program and to aid in their role as competent preceptors for our PharmD and Master in Clinical Pharmacy students.