Trainee doctors not adequately prepared to prescribe antibiotics‚ study finds
Trainee doctors are inadequately prepared to prescribe antibiotics‚ a survey of final-year students at three major medical schools has found. A questionnaire filled in by 289 students at Wits‚ Free State and Cape Town medical schools found that only 33% felt confident about prescribing antibiotics. The findings come after the World Health Organisation warned last month that 12 bacteria are poised to emerge as the "greatest threat to human health" because overprescribing means they are becoming resistant to antibiotics. About 700‚000 people around the world are killed every year by drug-resistant infections‚ and it is estimated that the toll will be 10 million a year by 2050 if no action is taken. The results of the South African survey have sparked a call in a South African Medical Journal editorial for "drastic educational measures". Adrian Brink from the UCT medical school and two University of Pretoria academics — Johan Schoeman (veterinary science) and George Muntingh (pharmacol...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.