Limi Ahmed MPH

Timothy Fong MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

Background:

According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 48.7 million people 12 and older had a substance use disorder (SUD). Medical students will inevitably encounter patients with SUD during their training, emphasizing the importance of a robust substance use training curriculum.

Objective:

We sought to evaluate medical students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding patients with substance use disorder, assess their clinical readiness, and identify potential gaps in the current substance use disorder curriculum at UCLA.

Methods:

We designed an anonymous knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey that assessed expected competencies regarding SUD. Having a comparison group of medical students from outside UCLA provided an opportunity to assess UCLA student responses, relative to their peers.

Results:

57 out of 114 survey participants were UCLA medical students. When asked six knowledge questions, 54% of UCLA and 42% of non-UCLA students answered five or more questions correctly. 42% of UCLA (n=48) and 27% of non-UCLA students (n=52) felt their preclinical curriculum did not prepare them for managing SUD. 21% of both UCLA (n=48) and non-UCLA (n=39) medical students felt their clerkship rotations did not prepare them to manage SUD. Currently, 37% of UCLA medical students and 31% of non-UCLA medical students feel prepared to clinically manage patients with substance use disorder.

Conclusions:

Medical schools have a crucial role in training students to conduct thorough substance use history exams, utilize motivational interviewing, and engage in shared decision-making with patients. Based on students’ responses, the preclinical and clerkship years are potential areas for inclusion of additional substance use disorder curriculum. This study provides valuable insight and serves as a preliminary analysis, but further research and data analysis is necessary.