Medical students’ attitudes and perceived competence regarding medical cannabis and its suggestibility

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The global trend of legalizing medical cannabis (MC) is on the rise. In Germany, physicians have prescribed MC at the expense of health insurers since 2017. However, the teaching on MC has been scant in medical training. This study investigates medical students’ attitudes and perceived competence regarding MC and evaluates how varying materials (videos/articles) impact their opinions. Methods Fourth-year medical students were invited to participate in the cross-sectional study. During an online session, students viewed a video featuring a patient with somatoform pain discussing her medical history, plus one of four randomly assigned MC-related materials (each an article and a video depicting a positive or negative perspective on MC). Students’ opinions were measured at the beginning [T0] and the end of the course [T1] using a standardized questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. We assessed the influence of the material on the students’ opinions using paired-sample t-tests. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc tests were conducted to compare the four groups. Pearson correlations assessed correlations. Results 150 students participated in the course, the response rate being 75.3% [T0] and 72.7% [T1]. At T0, students felt a little competent regarding MC therapy (M = 1.80 ± 0.82). At T1, students in groups 1 (positive video) and 3 (positive article) rated themselves as more capable in managing MC therapy $$ (\text{t}\left(28\right)=-3.816,\text{p}<0.001; \text{t}\left(23\right)=-4.153,\text{p}<0.001)$$, and students in groups 3 (positive article) and 4 (negative article) felt more skilled in treating patients with chronic pain $$ (\text{t}\left(23\right)=-2.251,\text{p}=0.034;\text{t}\left(30\right)=-2.034;\text{p}=0.051)$$. Compared to the other groups, group 2 students (negative video) felt significantly less competent. They perceived cannabis as addictive, hazardous and unsuitable for medical prescription. Discussion This study showed that medical students lack knowledge and perceived competence in MC therapy. Material influences their opinions in different ways, and they seek more training on MC. This underlines that integrating MC education into medical curricula is crucial to address this knowledge gap.