Abstract: |
BACKGROUND: Little is known regarding medical school curricular variability regarding safe prescribing of post-operative opioids for students entering surgical residency. METHODS: Surveys were administered to general surgery residency interviewees at an accredited academic institution for 2018-2019 application season. Responses were anonymously recorded using web-based software on an electronic tablet. Descriptive statistics were evaluated using proportions and medians with interquartile range. RESULTS: Of 103 eligible, 90 (87.4%) interviewees participated. Although 96.7% of students reported opioid pharmacology during medical school, 35.6% reported their curriculum did not include educational material on acute pain management. While 91.1% felt their curriculum adequately covered opioid related adverse events, 34.4% felt adequately prepared to prescribe post-operative opioids to surgical patients. CONCLUSION: Students entering surgical residency from US medical schools have variable exposures to opioid related educational content and many students feel their medical education inadequately prepared them for prescribing postoperative opioids. |