Clinical audit is now seen as an essential component of professional practice (NHS Plan, Department of Health 2000). Part of the assessment for the Certificate in the Management of Drug Misuse involves undertaking an audit.
Audits can often seem daunting, but with sufficient planning, the sharing of responsibilities amongst a team and careful choice of subject matter, they are usually extremely rewarding exercises with educational and developmental outcomes that demonstrate a practitioner’s commitment to the improvement of patient care and the patient experience.
For more information and advice on audit and subject matter please discuss your ideas with your tutor as early as possible in the course or contact the Professional Development Lead, Dr Linda Harris on drlinda@doctors.org.uk.
To help you in producing your audit you can look at examples of good paractice from candidates on the 2005 course below:
Example 1 (A) - Submitted by Bindhu Kumar (word)
Example 1 (B) - Submitted by Bindhu Kumar (powerpoint)
Example 2 - Submitted by Michael Marks (word)
Example 3 - Submitted by Gurjit Barn (word)
Example 4 - Submitted by Bitty Muller (word)
Example 5 - Submitted by Nick Hayward (word)
You can find guides to undertaking clinical audits through the following links:
Guide to Audit (The Pharmaceutical Journal)
Improving Patient Care through Clinical Audit (South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City PCTs)