The impact of medical school education on the opioid overdose crisis with concurrent training in naloxone administration and MAT

Abstract

The Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) Overdose Prevention Task Force (OPTF) was created with a vision to reduce overdose deaths around the country through osteopathic medical student action and advocacy. With the medical understanding that opioid overdose is a public health crisis and that there are knowledge deficits within patient populations subject to possible overdose and use disorders, our aim is to increase medical education and training within the medical community, starting at the medical student level. Our focus at this time is to create training and distribution programs for naloxone, to advocate for effective Good Samaritan Laws in states where they are lacking, and to increase access to medication-assisted treatments (MAT) in the communities that need them most. Foundational to the mission of the OPTF is education of the general public and medical communities on harm reduction practices and reducing the stigma surrounding substance use. Student leaders are strategically dispersed nationally over 40 campuses to achieve these goals.

Keywords:

• Overdose
• addiction
• opioids
• medical education
• health policy

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the Overdose Prevention Task Force of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial or other relationships that might constitute a real or perceived conflict of interest to disclose.