Abstract
BACKGROUND: Taiwan implemented a reformed 6-year medical education in 2013, with a subsequent 2-year postgraduate training programme starting in August 2019. This study investigated the perceptions of acute and chronic pain management in postgraduate physicians. METHODS: In late July 2023, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted of Taiwanese physicians who had almost completed their postgraduate 2-year or 1-year training and those who were starting a postgraduate programme in early August 2023. This survey evaluated their knowledge, attitude and clinical experience related to opioid-based pain management and their perceptions of the opioid crisis in the United States and Taiwan. RESULTS: Of the 197 postgraduate physicians, 169 (85.8%) responded to the survey. Physicians who had received postgraduate 2-year (n = 48) and 1-year (n = 51) training had a deeper understanding of opioids (p < 0.001) and exhibited greater confidence in acute and chronic pain management (both p < 0.001) compared with those who were just starting a postgraduate programme (n = 70). Of the included physicians, 92 (54.4%) were aware of the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States, but only 28 (16.6%) disagreed with the notion of a current opioid problem in Taiwan. Approximately 27.8% had never heard of multimodal analgesia, and 86.4% expressed a need for further pain management education. CONCLUSIONS: The postgraduate training programme in Taiwan provides enhanced knowledge of opioids and improves physicians' levels of confidence in acute and chronic pain management. However, only one-sixth of postgraduate physicians are aware that Taiwan does not have an opioid problem.