There has been a noticeable deficiency in the implementation of addiction science in healthcare practice. Many physicians and healthcare providers feel unprepared to treat addictions following their training. While the inadequate education has been well documented, the perceptions of learners in early-career health professions have not been fully investigated.
What are the perceptions of learners in health professions on early-career addiction medicine training?
From April 2015 – August 2018, we interviewed 47 early-career physicians, social workers and nurses trained in the Canadian Addiction Medicine Fellowships along with 15 medical students who participated in the Flexible Enhanced Learning Curriculum offered by the British Columbia (BC) Centre on Substance Use in Vancouver, BC. Transcripts were coded inductively using qualitative data analysis software (NVivo 11.4.3).
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The findings related to early-career training in addiction medicine revealed six key issues:
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- A need for structured addictions training,
- Insufficient time spent on addiction education,
- Insufficient clinical training and clinical skill development,
- Lack of patient-centeredness and empathy in training environment,
- Insufficient implementation of evidence-based medicine, and
- Prevailing stigmas towards addiction medicine.
Source:
Klimas, J., L., Hamilton, MA., Lail, M., Fairbairn, N. (2021) “Maybe there was four hours in total in medical school”: A qualitative study of health professions learners’ perceptions of early career training in addiction medicine. Poster accepted to the virtual 20th Thinking Qualitatively conference | July 5
If you enjoyed this post, you might want to read more about educational studies in the hospitals here https://janklimas.com/2021/04/30/educational-studies-in-inner-city-hospital/