Opioid Use Disorder Curriculum: Medicine Clerkship Standardized Patient Case, Small-Group Activity, and Patient Panel

Date of Review: June, 2022

The resource presents a training for third-year medical students in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) using motivational interviewing, knowledge on harm reduction, and use of nonstigmatizing language. The entire session takes approximately 3 hours, and includes an OSCE with a standardized patient (SP) and SP feedback (25 minutes), student documentation of the encounter as a history and physical (20 minutes), small group case (1 hour), panel of patients living with OUD (1 hour), and a second OSCE at the conclusion of the training sessions (20 minutes). Students were evaluated based on their clinical documentation scores for the Pre and Post session OSCEs. The curriculum was designed to enable students to obtain waivers from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe medications for OUD–such as buprenorphine–upon completion of their training. In addition to scoring higher on the second OSCE, in qualitative feedback students reported benefits such as a better understanding of the humanity of people who inject drugs, patients’ different paths to recovery, and the impact of stigma. Strengths of the curriculum include the rigor of the evaluation methods, and the involvement of patients in the panel. Limitations include the resources required to implement the curriculum, and the potential challenges of recruiting patients to be part of the patient panel. Overall, the training should be feasible (and likely beneficial) to implement at institutions with the motivation and resources to do so. –Dave Liss, PhD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

dserota@med.miami.edu

Institution:

University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine

Where was the Curriculum Implemented:

Miami, FL

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Self-reported learner attitude

Measured learner behavior in simulated setting

Outcome and Study Design:

Pre/Post

Level of Learner Assessment

Demonstration of skill in a controlled environment (OSCE, Simulation)