Medical Students’ Attitudes towards the Addictions

Background: The need for medical students to engage with patients with addictive problems is projected to increase in coming years. There will also be a concomitant greater emphasis on community-based learning. The present study assessed the impact of a community based teaching initiative, the Student Selected Component (SSC) Lay and Professional Perspectives on the Addictions, on students' attitudes to these groups. Summary of Work: The SSC is assessed by a final student report which includes a self-reflective section. The free text data from this section of 28 qualitative reports over 7 years was analysed using content analysis. Summary of Results: Students were clear they believed the experience of the SSC had increased their understanding of both the psychological and social complexity related to the addictions and the role of medicine within this. Conclusions: We discovered that the SSC Lay and Professional Perspectives on the Addictions not only gave students first-hand experience of those suffering from and treating addictive problems, but also had a positive effect on their attitude towards this group.