The Authors’ Own Words: An opioid overdose curriculum for medical residents: impact on naloxone prescribing, knowledge, and attitudes

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

An opioid overdose curriculum for medical residents: impact on naloxone prescribing, knowledge, and attitudes

Jessica L. Taylor, MD; Alison B. Rapoport, MD; Christopher F. Rowley, MD; Kenneth J. Mukamal, MD; &Wendy Stead, MD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“Our work builds upon prior medical education research in opioid overdose prevention showing that internal medicine residents know about naloxone and are willing to prescribe, but few have written prescriptions themselves. Our curricular intervention appeared to increase resident knowledge, improve attitudes surrounding naloxone and addiction, and increase self-reported naloxone prescribing. Most importantly, it increased observed prescribing rates to levels that might plausibly impact mortality. To our knowledge, our confirmation of self-reported gains with objective prescribing data represents a novel contribution to the literature. Results demonstrate that the gap between resident interest in opioid overdose prevention and action can be bridged by a brief, targeted intervention.”