Prescribing in paediatrics

To be able to prescribe commonly used drugs safely and effectively is a core requirement of the newly qualified doctor since prescribing is a task often left to junior medical staff. A survey using an on-line questionnaire gathering opinions from UK medical students and first year Foundation doctors graduating in 2006–08 showed that only 38% felt confident about prescription writing, 24% about drug dosage calculation and 15% about preparing and administering drugs.1 Ninety per cent of 2008 graduates and 60% of 2007 graduates had completed a prescription chart three times or less during their training. There appeared to be marked variation between medical schools. Children offer particular difficulties to prescribers over and above those of adult patients. Here we describe some of those problems and present ideas for preparing medical students and junior doctors to meet the challenges they face when prescribing for children