The prescription station (generic names, no doses here)

What it is

In a prescribing station the candidate receives a short case (for example, an adult with community-acquired pneumonia ready for discharge, or an older patient on several medicines admitted after a fall), a blank prescription or drug chart, and often a formulary or local protocol. The examiner marks safety more than memory. Before writing, a safe prescriber confirms the patient's identity, records allergies together with the reaction they caused, and checks the facts that change the choice: age, weight (essential in children and frail adults), kidney and liver function, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and the current medicines, deciding for each one whether to continue, stop, hold or change it (medication reconciliation). The order itself must be complete and legible: the generic name (the international nonproprietary name, DCI in Colombia), form and strength, dose, route, frequency, duration and total quantity, the indication, the patient's full name and identity number, the date, and the prescriber's name, professional registration and signature. High-alert medicines such as anticoagulants, insulins, opioids and concentrated electrolytes carry extra checks. The station usually ends with a short explanation to the patient and a plan for monitoring. On DurgiPedia doses are always written as a placeholder such as «[dose per protocol]»; in the real station you take them from the formulary or protocol provided, never from memory alone.

What is assessed

• Correct patient identification: full name, identity number, age, weight where it matters, and the date.
• A safe choice for the indication, given allergies, interactions, kidney and liver function, pregnancy and age.
• A complete, legible order with generic names that a pharmacist can dispense without having to call you.
• Extra care with high-alert medicines: anticoagulants, insulins, opioids and concentrated electrolytes.
• Review of the existing list (medication reconciliation): what to continue, stop, hold or change, and why.
• Clear explanation to the patient: purpose, how to take it, main adverse effects, missed doses and when to return.
• Prescriber identification: name, professional registration number and signature.

How to do it (and why)

1. Read the whole task and chart before writing — the trap (an allergy, low kidney function, a pregnancy) is usually hidden in the case.
2. Confirm identity with two identifiers and ask about allergies and the reaction — wrong patient and a known allergy are top errors.
3. Review the current medicines and decide to continue, stop or hold each — duplications and interactions hide in the old list.
4. Choose the medicine and adjust for kidney, liver, age, weight and pregnancy — the same medicine is not safe for every patient.
5. Write generic name, form, strength, [dose per protocol], route, frequency, duration and quantity — the pharmacist needs every field.
6. Write «units» in full, no trailing zero, a leading zero, no unclear abbreviations — these slips cause tenfold errors.
7. Add the indication and a review or stop date — others can then see why the medicine was started and for how long.
8. Print your name, professional registration and signature legibly — an unsigned or illegible order is not valid.
9. Explain: «This medicine is for…, take it…, the most common side effect is…», then ask the patient to repeat it — teach-back.
10. State what you would monitor and when, and document it — for example potassium and creatinine after starting an ACE inhibitor.

The fields of a complete prescription

Mistakes that cost marks

• Writing a brand name, or confusing two look-alike or sound-alike medicines without checking.
• Missing the allergy box, or prescribing another penicillin to a patient whose allergy to amoxicillin is written in the chart.
• Prescribing a medicine that kidney function, liver function or pregnancy makes unsafe, or not adjusting it.
• Leaving fields blank (route, frequency, duration) or writing «as needed» without the indication and the minimum interval.
• Using abbreviations such as «U», «IU», «qd» or «cc», or decimals that can be misread.
• Duplicating a class (two anti-inflammatories, two anticoagulants) or forgetting to stop the old medicine when switching.
• Not explaining the medicine, using jargon, or asking «Any questions?» instead of checking understanding.

Self-check list

• Did I confirm identity with two identifiers and record the allergy with its reaction?
• Did I check kidney and liver function, weight, pregnancy and the current medicines?
• Is every medicine written by generic name, with form, strength, route, frequency and duration?
• Did I avoid dangerous abbreviations and ambiguous decimals?
• Did I flag high-alert medicines and plan their monitoring?
• Did I write the date, my name, professional registration and signature?
• Did I explain the medicine in plain words and check understanding with teach-back?
• Did I say what to do with a missed dose and when to come back?

Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

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Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

• The rights of medication administration
• High-alert medications
• Medication reconciliation

Connections

← All clinical skills

Educational content; it does not replace supervised hands-on training, your institution's protocols or a prescriber's order. A procedure is learnt with a teacher and done only once you are trained to do it.

Sources: Mejorar la seguridad en la utilización de medicamentos. Paquetes instruccionales, versión 2.0 (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia, 2015); Nursing Pharmacology (Open RN), 2.5 Preventing Medication Errors (Open RN, Chippewa Valley Technical College (LibreTexts), 2023).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.