Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37009901›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2023

Medical student perspectives on substance misuse education in the medical undergraduate programme: a grounded theory approach.

Senthan Rudrakumar, Natasha Varshney, Reverend David Taylor

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Senthan RudrakumarUniversity of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. Senthan.rudrakumar@nhs.net.
Natasha VarshneyUniversity of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Reverend David TaylorGulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
University of Liverpool · GBGulf Medical University · AE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSubstance misuse teaching within the undergraduate medical curriculum has been underrepresented compared to more traditional medical topics. In response several national curriculum reviews such as the most recent UK department of health initiative (DOH) have identified deficiencies in substance misuse education and have suggested curriculum interventions for local faculties to implement. The student perspective however has largely been muted during this process and this study aims to explore this using a constructivist grounded theory approach.

methodsEleven final year and intercalating medical students across three separate focus groups participated in this study over a three-month period commencing from March 2018. Time between the audio recorded focus groups allowed for a parallel process of data collection and analysis into more focussed codes and categories to occur, consistent with the grounded theory approach. The qualitative study took place in a single medical school in the UK.

resultsMedical students had a common consensus that substance misuse education was an underperforming subject in their curriculum, from limited teaching hours to curriculum design and organisational problems. Students identified an alternative curriculum is required to not only prepare students for their future clinical duties but also their own personal lives. Students highlighted this proximity to a 'dangerous world' where exposure to substance misuse risks were faced daily. This exposure also provided a source of informal learning experiences which students deemed as being potentially unbalanced and even dangerous. Students also identified unique barriers to curriculum change with reference to a lack of openness due to the impacts of disclosure in substance misuse.

conclusionLarge scale curriculum initiatives appear to correspond to the student voice obtained in this study, providing backing for the implementation of a co-ordinated substance misuse curriculum within medical schools. The student voice however provides an alternative lens by outlining how substance misuse pervades into students' lives and how informal learning is a largely underestimated hidden source of learning with more dangers than benefits. This together with the identification of further barriers to curriculum change, provide space for medical faculties to incorporate and work with students to facilitate local level curriculum changes relating to substance misuse education.

Indexed as

Education, Medical, UndergraduateStudents, MedicalSubstance-Related DisordersCurriculumFaculty, MedicalGrounded TheoryHumansAddiction in medical schoolCurriculum changeInformal learningStudent voiceSubstance misuse education

Identifiers

PMID37009901
PMCPMC10068233
OpenAlexW4362522857

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.