A pilot study to examine the opioid prescribing practices of medical residents

Abstract

Objective:The present opioid crisis has raised concern regarding the prescribing practices of physicians. However, the training of resident physicians has not been sufficiently evaluated. The proposed objective of this study was to evaluate how residents across different specialties perceived the adequacy of their training in the prescribing of opioid-based analgesics.

Design:Medical residents were surveyed regarding their opioid prescribing training in medical school and residency, their confidence and frequency of prescribing opioids, the indications for which they prescribed opioids, whether they utilize opioids as first-line treatment in pain management, and their perception of the effectiveness of opioids in managing a patient’s pain.

Setting:Medical residents across multiple years and specialties at two institutions within the same state were surveyed.

Results:The resident response rate was 26 percent (75), and of those residents, 56 percent (42) indicated that their medical school training was insufficient and 37 percent (28) reported that their residency training was insufficient, which was independent of both year and specialty.

Conclusions:These findings suggest that residents perceive a lack of adequate training on the prescribing of opioids during medical school and to a lesser degree during residency. A larger study will be required to validate these findings as well as to determine which specific aspects of a resident’s medical education on opioid prescribing are lacking. More importantly, the authors hope that these findings will initiate an interest in standardizing opioid prescribing education for medical students and residents with the goal of reducing the abuse and deaths related to these medications.