PS1-06: âITâS LIKE LEARNING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTSâ: SURGEONS LACK FORMAL TRAINING IN OPIOID PRESCRIBING
Nagehan Ayakta, BA1, Lindsay Sceats, MD2, Sylvia Bereknyei-Merrell, DrPH2, Cindy Kin2; 1Stanford University School of Medicine, 2Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Surgery
Objective: To determine the actual training and training needs of surgical residents and faculty on opioid prescribing, and the repercussions on prescribing practices.
Background: Surgeons are amongst the healthcare providers most likely to prescribe opioids. However, limited data exist on the extent of surgeons’ training in opioid prescribing, and its possible influence on prescribing patterns.
Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 surgical residents and 21 surgical faculty, using maximum variation sampling. We used an iterative, inductive process, including inter-rater reliability testing, to develop the codebook. We performed thematic and content analyses of opioid prescribing and education.
Results: Most participants (83%) had not received formal education in prescribing opioids. Rather, they reported developing prescribing practices by learning on the job through interactions with supervising and consulting physicians, and self-directed reading of scientific or popular media articles (Table 1). The majority (86%) desired formal training, specifically in the form of procedure-specific guidelines and best practices for managing chronic or severe pain. Residents suggested that an effective time to undergo such training would be at the start of residency, and most participants preferred that a pain specialist deliver the training.
Conclusions: Although surgeons routinely prescribe opioids and desire additional formal training, a majority of them do not receive it. Instituting formal educational programs for surgeons may be a critical component of improving overall opioid prescribing practices.
