Identifying competencies required for medication prescribing for general practice residents: a nominal group technique study.

International audienceBackground:Teaching of medication prescribing is a specific challenge in general practice curriculum. The aim ofthis study was to identify and rank the competencies required for prescribing medication for general practiceresidents in France.Methods:Qualitative consensus study using the nominal group technique. We invited different stakeholders of thegeneral practice curriculum and medication use in primary care to a series of meetings. The nominal grouptechnique allowed for the quick development of a list of consensual and ranked answers to the following question:“At the end of their general practice curriculum, in terms of medication prescribing, what should residents be ableto do?”.Results:Four meetings were held that involved a total of 31 participants, enabling the creation of a final list of 29ranked items, grouped in 4 domains. The four domains identified were‘pharmacology’,‘regulatory standards’,‘therapeutics’, and‘communication (both with patients and healthcare professionals)’. Overall, the five items themost highly valued across the four meetings were:‘write a legible and understandable prescription’,‘identifyspecific populations’,‘prescribe the doses and durations following the indication’,‘explain a lack of medicationprescription to the patient’,‘decline inappropriate medication request’. The‘communication skills’domain was thedomain with the highest number of items (10 items), and with the most highly-valued items.Conclusion:The study results suggest a need for developing general practice residents’communication skillsregarding medication prescribing