Pharmacy Students' Clinical Reasoning and Decision-Making to Detect and Resolve Medication Errors.

Objective: Medication errors pose a significant challenge in healthcare, impacting patient safety. Pharmacists play a key role in mitigating errors using clinical reasoning skills. This study examined Qatar University (QU) College of Pharmacy (CPH) students' clinical reasoning and decision-making process in case scenarios involving medication errors.

Methods: Qualitative case study using the think-aloud procedure was conducted with senior fourth-year BSc Pharm and Doctor of Pharmacy students using the clinical reasoning model. Data were analyzed thematically.

Results: Twenty-five interviews were conducted. Eight themes were identified 1) Gaining Initial Patient Impression 2) Assessing Patient Data 3) Difficulty Recalling Therapeutic Knowledge 4) Interpreting Patient Data 5) Synthesizing Facts and Inferences for a Definitive Diagnosis of Errors 6) Describing Desired Outcomes 7) Optimizing Decision-Making 8) Process and Recommendations.

Conclusion: QU pharmacy students used various strategies to detect and resolve medication errors. The think-aloud procedure offered insights into factors influencing clinical reasoning and decision-making, highlighting the importance of future educational interventions to further develop students' skills.