OUR crisis: Evolution of a third-year medical student opioid epidemic-themed inter-clerkship week to reflect the landscape of pain and addiction care.

Authors

Laura Harrison, Melissa Pawelczak, Mersema T Abate, Stephen Butkus, Sandeep Kapoor

Published in

Journal of opioid management. Volume 22. Issue 5. Pages 467-486.

Abstract

A week-long themed interclerkship curricular experience was designed to reframe THE Opioid Epidemic as "OUR Opioid Epidemic," humanize and normalize opioid use disorder and pain, and motivate a shift in attitudes, knowledge, comfort, and perceived skills.
This was a prospective cohort study with pre- and post-curriculum surveys.
The curriculum was delivered at a medical school associated with a large health system over 6 academic years.
Third-year medical students who previously received "Evidence-Based Screening Tools" and "Drug Use and the Brief Negotiated Interview" sessions of the longitudinal, spiraling "Addressing Substance Use" curriculum.
Over 55 faculty/facilitators spanning 40 clinical/nonclinical departments developed and delivered the "OUR Opioid Epidemic" themed interclerkship experience. Annual iterations responded to learner and faculty feedback, the ever-changing landscape of substance use, and the evolution of pain care strategies. Learners participated in first-person perspective panels, large group sessions, workshops, and a culminating capstone experience.
Pre- and post-session surveys assessed changes in knowledge, attitudes, comfort, and perceived skills.
The curriculum was highly rated by students and positively shifted attitudes, knowledge, comfort, and perceived skills around opioid use, pain care, and substance use disorder.
The landscape of substance use and pain is complex and changing. Medical school curricula must thus evolve. Experiential workshops, perspectives of individuals with lived experience, student-developed elements, and a capstone session prepared students to thoughtfully address pain care and substance use. The week served to empower learners to model-up as they continue their professional formation in clinical settings.

PMID:
42873155
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Oct 2026.

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