Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study
Objective: Explore the perceptions and attitudes of medical students regarding their education in opioid prescribing for pain management. Design: Three focus group discussions elicited open-ended, information-rich responses from medical students attending multiple institutions. Thematic analysis ide...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Surgery Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589845025000089 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823861219546628096 |
|---|---|
| author | Angelina Luciano Mara Schenker Dawn L. Comeau Courtney R. Yarbrough Nicholas A. Giordano |
| author_facet | Angelina Luciano Mara Schenker Dawn L. Comeau Courtney R. Yarbrough Nicholas A. Giordano |
| author_sort | Angelina Luciano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: Explore the perceptions and attitudes of medical students regarding their education in opioid prescribing for pain management. Design: Three focus group discussions elicited open-ended, information-rich responses from medical students attending multiple institutions. Thematic analysis identified common themes from focus group transcript data. Setting: Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Participants: Medical students (n = 12) from four medical schools in the United States. Results: Focus group participants indicated they experienced changes in their perceptions and attitudes about opioids during their time in medical school, gradually recognizing the importance of treating pain while avoiding overprescribing and opioid-related harms. Discussions revealed that the curriculum on opioid medications and their prescription in medical school is limited and varied, with most opportunities for learning arising during preclinical years. The quantity and quality of the opioid-related education experienced by participants during medical school impacted their perceived knowledge about opioids and, consequently, their confidence in treating pain. Participants noted that important gaps in their knowledge about opioid prescribing persist, which may influence their future prescribing habits. While participants understood they had insufficient knowledge about opioid prescribing, they anticipated there would be additional learning during their residency programs. Conclusions: There is room for improvement for medical school instruction on the safe and effective use of opioids for pain management in the United States. Medical students themselves have expressed a desire for enhanced opioid education. Strengthening opioid education has implications across various healthcare environments, particularly in settings with prevalent opioid prescribing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e261ec09495f4030956043b1d91ee1ca |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-8450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Surgery Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-e261ec09495f4030956043b1d91ee1ca2025-02-10T04:34:45ZengElsevierSurgery Open Science2589-84502025-03-01242328Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative studyAngelina Luciano0Mara Schenker1Dawn L. Comeau2Courtney R. Yarbrough3Nicholas A. Giordano4Department of Behavior, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Corresponding author at: 1520 Clifton Road, Office 360, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, GA, USADepartment of Behavior, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USADepartment of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USANell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USAObjective: Explore the perceptions and attitudes of medical students regarding their education in opioid prescribing for pain management. Design: Three focus group discussions elicited open-ended, information-rich responses from medical students attending multiple institutions. Thematic analysis identified common themes from focus group transcript data. Setting: Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Participants: Medical students (n = 12) from four medical schools in the United States. Results: Focus group participants indicated they experienced changes in their perceptions and attitudes about opioids during their time in medical school, gradually recognizing the importance of treating pain while avoiding overprescribing and opioid-related harms. Discussions revealed that the curriculum on opioid medications and their prescription in medical school is limited and varied, with most opportunities for learning arising during preclinical years. The quantity and quality of the opioid-related education experienced by participants during medical school impacted their perceived knowledge about opioids and, consequently, their confidence in treating pain. Participants noted that important gaps in their knowledge about opioid prescribing persist, which may influence their future prescribing habits. While participants understood they had insufficient knowledge about opioid prescribing, they anticipated there would be additional learning during their residency programs. Conclusions: There is room for improvement for medical school instruction on the safe and effective use of opioids for pain management in the United States. Medical students themselves have expressed a desire for enhanced opioid education. Strengthening opioid education has implications across various healthcare environments, particularly in settings with prevalent opioid prescribing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589845025000089Medical educationOpioidsOpioid educationPain management |
| spellingShingle | Angelina Luciano Mara Schenker Dawn L. Comeau Courtney R. Yarbrough Nicholas A. Giordano Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study Surgery Open Science Medical education Opioids Opioid education Pain management |
| title | Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study |
| title_full | Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study |
| title_short | Perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education: A qualitative study |
| title_sort | perceptions and attitudes of medical students toward opioid education a qualitative study |
| topic | Medical education Opioids Opioid education Pain management |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589845025000089 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT angelinaluciano perceptionsandattitudesofmedicalstudentstowardopioideducationaqualitativestudy AT maraschenker perceptionsandattitudesofmedicalstudentstowardopioideducationaqualitativestudy AT dawnlcomeau perceptionsandattitudesofmedicalstudentstowardopioideducationaqualitativestudy AT courtneyryarbrough perceptionsandattitudesofmedicalstudentstowardopioideducationaqualitativestudy AT nicholasagiordano perceptionsandattitudesofmedicalstudentstowardopioideducationaqualitativestudy |