Trainees Unprepared for Advances in Psychedelic Medicine: A Survey Study.
Jamarie Geller, Nicolas Glynos, Andrew Lemmen, Rachel Pacilio, Daniel J Kruger, Avinash Hosanagar
Journal of psychoactive drugs January 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2024.2341795 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractTrainees in medical and allied professions learn about psychedelics and related therapies mainly from social media and word-of-mouth, sources that do not improve their knowledge. Structured education is scarce, and overall psychedelic literacy is low, but those who participate in programming at their own institutions show greater knowledge. As psychedelic therapies become more available and research advances, academic training programs must include relevant material to prepare future professionals to educate and counsel patients.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 221 |
| Population | Medical and allied professional trainees who may interact with patients using or planning to use psychedelics therapeutically |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Education Psychedelic medicine Training |
| Key finding | Trainees' knowledge about psychedelics is low, and learning from social media or word-of-mouth does not correlate with increased knowledge, but participation in programming at home institutions predicts greater psychedelic literacy. |
Abstract
This study aimed to characterize attitudes and identify gaps in trainee knowledge and education that may impact the field's readiness for the reemergence of psychedelic use in psychiatry. A two-part survey was sent out targeting medical and allied professional trainees who may interact with patients using or planning to use psychedelics therapeutically. Collected data for part one characterized demographics, sources of information, attitudes, experiences, and amount and type of education available about psychedelics in training programs. Part two was an assessment of psychedelic literacy, and predictors of trainee knowledge were analyzed. A total of 473 responses were obtained, 221 of which were unique, complete, thought to be authentic, and therefore included. Results indicated trainees had learned about psychedelics and related therapies from a wide variety of sources, most notably social media and word-of-mouth, which did not correlate with increased knowledge. There is limited structured education available, and although overall knowledge is low, participation in programming at home institutions did predict greater psychedelic literacy. As psychedelics are becoming increasingly available and research into their use in medicine advances, inclusion of relevant material in academic training programs will be essential to prepare future professionals to effectively educate and counsel patients.