OD's and DT's: using movies to teach intoxication and withdrawal syndromes to medical students.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether second-year medical students believed that the use of movies helped them to learn about intoxication and withdrawal syndromes.

METHODS

A videotape was made by transferring clips of various commercially available films as well as clips from several television news shows and a training film displaying intoxication and withdrawal syndromes. Students attending the lecture were asked to complete a brief, anonymous questionnaire following the lecture.

RESULTS

More than 90% of the 89 respondents believed that the clips helped them to recognize these syndromes and appreciate their potential severity. All students believed that the movie clips would help them remember the syndromes, with greater than 90% reporting that it would help "very much."

CONCLUSIONS

The use of movie clips appears to be a useful tool in teaching medical students about intoxication and withdrawal syndromes seen with various substances of abuse.