Impact of a Brief Addiction Medicine Training Experience on Knowledge Self-Assessment among Medical Learners

Abstract

Background Implementation of evidence-based approaches to the treatment of various substance use disorders is needed to tackle the existing epidemic of substance use and related harms. Most clinicians, however, lack knowledge and practical experience with these approaches. Given this deficit, the authors examined the impact of an inpatient elective in addiction medicine amongst medical trainees on addiction-related knowledge and medical management. Methods Trainees who completed an elective with a hospital-based Addiction Medicine Consult Team (AMCT) in Vancouver, Canada from May 2015–May 2016, completed a nine-item self-evaluation scale before and immediately after the elective. Results A total of 48 participants completed both pre and post AMCT elective surveys. On average, participants were 28 years old (Inter Quartile Range [IQR] = 27–29), and contributed 20 days (IQR = 13–27) of clinical service. Knowledge of addiction medicine increased significantly post elective [mean difference (MD) = 8.63, standard deviation (SD) = 18.44; P = 0.002]. The most and the least improved areas of knowledge were relapse prevention and substance use screening, respectively. Conclusions Completion of a clinical elective with a hospital-based Addiction Medicine Consult Team appears to improve medical trainees’ addiction-related knowledge. Further evaluation and expansion of addiction medicine education is warranted to develop the next generation of skilled addiction care providers.

Inpatient Addiction Consult Service

“…In addition, an ACS can have an important educational role, increasing trainee knowledge of addiction medicine concepts 71 as well as creating a more patient- centered harm reduction culture within the hospital setting.…”

In-Hospital Training in Addiction Medicine: A Mixed-Methods Study of Health Care Provider Benefits and Differences

“…For more details on the elective, please refer to a previous publication. 12 In addition to clinical training, some learners opt to partake in immersive research training. Here, learners are offered an opportunity to write a research paper under the direct supervision of a Principal Investigator (PI).…”

Barriers and facilitators to implementing addiction medicine fellowships: a qualitative study with fellows, medical students, residents and preceptors

“…Centre on Substance Use conduct longitudinal cohort studies of people who inject drugs or who live with HIV/AIDS. The overlap between research and clinical care informs research agendas and fosters the uptake of novel research findings in practice [ 26 , 32 ]. In sum, the integration of both research and clinical training in addiction medicine at the under- and post-graduate level, which has been developed within a single academic centre, is unique and has not been described previously.…”