Better performance of medical students on pharmacotherapy knowledge and skills tests is associated with practising with e-learning program P-scribe.

AIMS: Junior doctors write most hospital prescriptions, yet are more than twice as likely to make an error in their prescriptions compared to senior doctors. A possibility to enhance pharmacotherapy education is through the use of e-learning modules. The aim of this study was to determine whether P-scribe, as the chosen e-learning resource, helps students in passing their pharmacotherapy assessments. METHODS: This retrospective study was undertaken in the Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands. All 270 medical students who started their master's curriculum in the academic session of 2017-2018 were included. Data were analysed to identify the frequency of student's use per e-learning module, total time students spent on e-learning modules and timing of the use of e-learning modules in relation to their assessments. The results of the assessments were analysed to identify possible correlations between the time students spent using P-scribe, their timing of use and their assessment results. RESULTS: Students who passed their knowledge-based assessment first time had a mean practice time of five more hours than students who did not pass first time (P < .05, 95% CI: 3.4-6.6). These students practised on average six e-learning modules more (P < .05, 95% CI: 4.1-7.0) than students who failed their first attempt. Students who passed their skill-based prescription test first time, practised on average five more e-learning modules (P = .006, 95% CI: 1.4-8.3) than students who failed their first attempt. CONCLUSION: Students who passed their pharmacotherapy assessments first time spent more time, and practised more frequently, with e-learning modules.