Improving Residents' Safe Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain Using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination

• DOI: 10.4300/jgme-d-15-00273.1
• Publication Date: 2016-05-05T20:08:09Z
• Authors: Daniel P. Alford; Brittany L. Carney; Belle Brett; Sharon J. Parish; Angela H. Jackson
• Keywords: Adult; Male; 4. Education; Internship and Residency; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; Analgesics, Opioid; Patient Simulation; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Education, Medical, Graduate; Internal Medicine; Humans; Female; Clinical Competence; Chronic Pain

ABSTRACT Internal medicine residents care for a sizable number of patients with chronic pain. Programs need educational strategies to promote safe opioid prescribing.Background To describe prescribing education program utilizing an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and report the resulting impact on residents' knowledge, confidence, self-reported practices.Objective Using quasi-experimental design, 39 internal from urban academic medical center were assigned 1 4 groups: 1-hour lecture only, followed by immediate OSCE, 4-month delayed control. Safe practices assessed at baseline 8 months.Methods At months, improved in control all 3 intervention groups. The OSCE group had greatest improvements combined confidence scores within (0.74, P = .01) compared controls (0.52, .05), using 5-point scale. This also improvement practice changes (1.04, .04), while other groups showed nonsignificant improvements—delayed (0.43, .44), only (0.66, .24), .19).Results that includes immediately greater than those or There was no difference knowledge among Lecture highly regarded residents, but required additional resources.Conclusions