A version of this article was shared in the newsletter of the Center for Student Wellness and Counseling Services
In their 2022 report, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that 20.4 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year and nearly 71,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2019. In fact, the death rate for overdoses in Ohio was over 5,000 deaths in 2020. Just in Portage County alone, the rate of drug overdose deaths increased by 33% in 2020. According to NIDA, Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States.
You are not Immune to Addiction.
Research shows medical professionals and medical professional students are not immune to substance use disorders. In fact, the lifetime prevalence of any substance use disorder among physicians ranges 8-15%. Among medical professional students up to 26% report cannabis use and up to 70% report binge drinking.
In her recent 2023 presidential address to the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS), Carrie Cunningham, M.D., powerfully and openly talks about her life as a surgeon and former professional tennis player, while privately suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and substance use disorders.