Non-prescription drug use in a group of medical students: For success

Abstract

Aim: Non-prescription drug use is a common problem in the population and also among medical students. Medical education requires great efforts and students may prefer to use non-prescribed drugs during examination periods in order to facilitate the studying lesson. Material and Methods: In the present study non-prescribed drug use among a sample of Mersin University Medical Faculty students was investigated. The study was carried out with 145 respondents in the third year of education. Data were expressed as frequency and mean ± standard deviation, for group comparisons chi-square test was used. p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: 85 (58.6%) of the students use non-prescribed drugs. 39 (27%) of the students were using analgesic drugs and 14 (35%) of the students stated that they use psychostimulants directly specifying the trade name of the drugs. Although the majority of the students (66.9%) did not specify where they learned the drug name most of them respond as they learned from their friends (12.4%). Seventy (48.2 %) of the students don’t use any drug or herbal product for reducing fatigue because of they will harm their body. Conclusion: The prevalence of non-prescription drug use is quite high and common among medical students. Precautions should be taken to prevent students from using the non-prescription drugs especially psychostimulants.