Empowering Future Physicians: Enhancing Naloxone Competency Through Early Harm Reduction Training in Medical Education

Résumé fourni par la source

Introduction: With increasing rates of fatal opioid overdoses and substance use disorders, discussing harm reduction strategies in undergraduate medical education is imperative. Medical students learn opioid pharmacology but often lack adequate training in recognizing and responding to opioid overdoses. Incorporating naloxone training into preclinical undergraduate medical education can be lifesaving. Methods: This educational activity trained second-year medical students in opioid overdose recognition and response. The 2-hour interactive session included an informative presentation on opioid use statistics, harm reduction, and opioid overdose; a case-based learning session; and hands-on practice on task trainers using an OSCE-style checklist. Student confidence in four areas was assessed through pre- and posttraining surveys on 5-point Likert scales. Data analysis was conducted using R (programming language), with exploratory analyses for sample size, normality, and variable selection. The Wilcoxon signed rank test evaluated changes in attitudes from pre- to posttest. Results: < .001). Discussion: Early training in opioid overdose management increased second-year medical students' confidence in key areas, potentially enabling them to better combat the crisis during their clinical years and educate at-risk patients. Future activities should incorporate objective skill assessments to evaluate competency and explore long-term knowledge retention during clinical rotations.

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