"The Stars Haven't Aligned": A Mixed-methods Study of Medical Students' Experience With Buprenorphine Training and Subsequent Prescribing During Internship.

Abstract

Objectives: We explored sustainability of confidence in key skills related to opioid use disorder (OUD) care and barriers and facilitators of prescribing buprenorphine among residents who had completed buprenorphine training during medical school.

Methods: Medical students who took an elective buprenorphine training course before graduation were surveyed immediately following the training ("baseline") and again 1 year later. Baseline surveys included demographics and confidence with key skills in OUD care. Follow-up surveys re-assessed confidence with key skills and additionally included waiver status, history of prescribing buprenorphine, and residency climate toward buprenorphine. Focus group interviews explored barriers and facilitators of prescribing buprenorphine.

Results: Sixty-one students participated in the training and completed the baseline survey. Seventy-two percent of trainees completed the follow-up survey; of these, 36% had obtained a waiver and just over half of those had used it to prescribe buprenorphine. In unadjusted analyses comparing 1-year follow-up results to the baseline survey, smaller percentages of learners reported strong confidence in screening for and diagnosing OUD (23% vs 46%, P=0.004), counseling patients with OUD regarding treatment options (11% vs 44%, P<0.001), and prescribing buprenorphine to treat a patient with OUD (11% vs 33%, P<0.001). Qualitative results suggested that learners experienced both bureaucratic and environmental barriers to prescribing buprenorphine.

Conclusions: Removal of the waiver requirement addresses only some barriers to buprenorphine prescribing among medical trainees. Residency climate and clinical systems conducive to prescribing buprenorphine will be necessary to sustain confidence managing OUD and increase buprenorphine prescribing during residency.