Book excerpt: Prescribing medications safely is a cornerstone of clinical practice but students receive little or no teaching in the practicalities of prescribing. Instead they are often left to learn on the ward, which inevitably leaves gaps in their knowledge. Unsurprisingly, prescribing errors among junior doctors are common and can cause significant harm to patients. This is a cause for concern with the GMC, and a potential solution - in the form of a national exam - has been proposed. Prescribing Skills Workbook is designed to help students and junior doctors bridge the gap between understanding the science of pharmacology and accurately writing a prescription on a patient's drug chart. The workbook format offers an ideal way to practice by completing a series of realistic, life-size charts in response to a clinical scenario. The book features 45 exercises, each one carefully chosen to test the reader's grasp of a key principle such as management of the patient on warfarin. Each exercise begins with a short scenario; next, the reader is invited to complete a chart based on the details in the case; then follows an answer section containing a correctly completed chart together with a summary of the main clinical and educational aspects of the exercise. Key Points A unique resource for medical students and foundation doctors to improve their understanding of the principles of safe prescribing and practice the physical act of filling out a drug chart correctly 45 blank' hospital charts replicate the experience of completing a realistic, life-size prescription, with 45 corresponding charts filled out correctly to enable the reader to compare, identify and rectify errors DRUGCHARTS checklist provides systematic framework for accurate prescribing by highlighting the key items to consider in each case Key points boxes highlight the main learning objectives in each exercise Short introductory chapter includes tips for safe prescribing