Surgical intern education decreases postop opioid prescribing

Editor's Note

Education of surgical interns on postoperative analgesia was effective in preparing them for judicious opioid prescribing, this study finds.

An education session on postoperative analgesia prescribing was presented to 31 incoming surgical interns by surgical residents.

Before the education session was started, few interns felt comfortable prescribing opioids (20%) or non-opioid analgesia (32%). After the session, 96% were more comfortable prescribing opioids, and 91% were more comfortable prescribing multi-modal analgesia.

Interns who received education, prescribed an average of 127.8 Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) per prescription, compared to 208.5 MME prescribed by interns before the education session was initiated.