Chapter 10 – Prescribing CPSA Station



Introduction

Many students seem incredibly worried about this part of the exam and subsequently large numbers seem to struggle to pass this section. I guess this isn’t hugely surprising as its the one task that students aren’t able to do ‘for real’ prior to the exam.

Our top tip is to imagine you are the pharmacist or person dispensing the prescription and what you would need to know to ensure that the medication was going in the right amount to the right person. The failure rate is usually for ‘silly’ reasons (forgetting to sign, miscalculation of drug dose, not reading far enough down the BNF).

Practicing using the BNF is very worthwhile prior to the exam. Get used to the format and the different sections and practice using the search function. The elearning safer prescribing modules on SCRIPT are also a good use of your time (and the pre and post module tests are good for AKT/SBA revision too). You may also be asked to prescribe intravenous (IV) fluids (NICE guidelines on maintenance fluids is a good source).

Out patient (FP10) prescribing

Inpatient prescribing

Abbreviations