• Jean-Pascal Fournier, Brigitte Escourrou, Julie Dupouy, Michel Bismuth, Jordan Birebent, Rachel Simmons, Jean-Christophe Poutrain, and Stéphane Oustric.
• Département Universitaire de Médecine Générale, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. jean-pascal.fournier@univ-tlse3.fr.
• Bmc Fam Pract. 2014 Aug 1; 15: 139.

BackgroundTeaching of medication prescribing is a specific challenge in general practice curriculum. The aim of this study was to identify and rank the competencies required for prescribing medication for general practice residents in France.MethodsQualitative consensus study using the nominal group technique. We invited different stakeholders of the general practice curriculum and medication use in primary care to a series of meetings. The nominal group technique allowed for the quick development of a list of consensual and ranked answers to the following question: "At the end of their general practice curriculum, in terms of medication prescribing, what should residents be able to do?".ResultsFour meetings were held that involved a total of 31 participants, enabling the creation of a final list of 29 ranked items, grouped in 4 domains. The four domains identified were 'pharmacology', 'regulatory standards', 'therapeutics', and 'communication (both with patients and healthcare professionals)'. Overall, the five items the most highly valued across the four meetings were: 'write a legible and understandable prescription', 'identify specific populations', 'prescribe the doses and durations following the indication', 'explain a lack of medication prescription to the patient', 'decline inappropriate medication request'. The 'communication skills' domain was the domain with the highest number of items (10 items), and with the most highly-valued items.ConclusionThe study results suggest a need for developing general practice residents' communication skills regarding medication prescribing.

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