Developing an opioid curriculum for medical students: A consensus report from a national symposium

Abstract

In June 2018, the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University hosted a national, multidisciplinary, interprofessional symposium on opioid curricula in undergraduate medical education. This article presents the consensus of an interprofessional group who attended a session focused on elements of an opioid curriculum, including key areas of content, teaching modalities, and learner assessment. This report also includes further directions and next steps for undergraduate medical education collaboration on opioid curricula.

Keywords:

• Curriculum
• drug overdose
• medical students
• opioid analgesics
• opioid-related disorders
• pain management
• program evaluation
• substance-related disorders
• teaching
• undergraduate medical education

Author contributions

Paul Wallace attended the Symposium on Curriculum Development in Opioid Management and was involved in the conception and design of the manuscript. He conducted the literature survey; composed the initial drafts of the following manuscript sections: introduction, about the symposium, outcomes of the symposium, and references; reviewed and provided substantial edits to draft versions of the completed manuscript; and formatted the manuscript for submission.

Sarita Warrier attended the Symposium on Curriculum Development in Opioid Management, co-moderated the breakout group described in this report, and was involved in the conception and design of the manuscript. She composed the initial drafts of the following manuscript sections: abstract, challenges, and conclusion; reviewed and provided substantial edits to draft versions of the completed manuscript; and reconciled all edits and comments by all authors. She is the corresponding author.

Marc J. Kahn attended the Symposium on Curriculum Development in Opioid Management and the breakout group described in this report and was involved in the conception and design of the manuscript. He reviewed and provided substantial edits to draft versions of the completed manuscript.

Christopher Welsh attended the Symposium on Curriculum Development in Opioid Management and the breakout group described in this report and was involved in the conception and design of the manuscript. He reviewed and provided substantial edits to draft versions of the completed manuscript.

Melissa Fischer attended the Symposium on Curriculum Development in Opioid Management, co-moderated the breakout group described in this report, and was involved in the conception and design of the manuscript. She reviewed and provided substantial edits to draft versions of the completed manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

Support for the Symposium on Curriculum Development in Opioid Management held at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University was provided by the Cardinal Health Foundation. The Cardinal Health Foundation was not involved in the preparation or review of the manuscript.