(632.9) Factors Contributing to Cognitive Enhancement (CEM) and Psychostimulant Medication (PSM) Use Among First Year Medical Students

Poster Board Number: C23
Introduction: AAA has separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – 10:15 am – 11:15 am
Even poster #s – 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Kayla Pavlick (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Audra Schaefer (University of Mississippi Medical Center)

Medical students perceive elevated levels of stress within their pre-clerkship years in part due to select curricular factors such as grading scale or method of content delivery (e.g. traditional or integrated). Medical students cope with these stressors in a variety of ways. Alcohol and nicotine use are among the top coping methods. There are many changes being made to the medical curriculum to alleviate this perception of stress and increase effectiveness of the curriculum. An additional manifestation of perceived stress is the exhibition of non-medical prescription drug use. Non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) of cognitive enhancement (CEM) and psychostimulant medications (PSM) (i.e. Adderall) is associated with elevated perceived levels of stress within both the undergraduate college and practicing physician populations. The prevalence of non-medical prescription drug use of CEM/PSMs among medical students is scarcely documented, while the perception of stress is heavily documented. This pilot study sought to address this gap in the literature by describing the prevalence of NMPDU of CEM/PSMs among first year medical students at an American allopathic institution in addition to perceived stress levels and the potential factors contributing to it. Ten students (less than 10% response rate) completed a questionnaire regarding CEM/PSM use, alcohol and nicotine use, sleep and study habits, and perceived stress. Student responses indicated presence of CEM/PSM use, with four of those students reporting non-prescription use. “School” was the top reason for taking CEM/PSMs and the number one contributor to perceived stress. Additionally, half of the respondents reported an increase in use within their first year of medical school. The results, while limited, confirm presence of NMPDU of CEM/PSMs within this population, with potential correlations with levels of perceived academic stress. This work provides initial insights from which future work can build to analyze the relationship between NMPDU and curricular factors which may shed light on additional benefits to curricular redesign or evidence to necessitate proactive measures to prevent the phenomenon of NMPDU within the medical student population.