Background and Aim: Undergraduate medical education often under-prepares future physicians in substance use identification and management competencies, such as screening, and brief intervention, contributing to missed opportunities for early intervention. In Georgian primary care settings, physicians are poorly familiar with relevant legislation, and rarely apply structured screening instruments. Insufficient training is among the most cited barriers to evidence-based counseling. This study aimed to evaluate how MD curricula integrate substance use topics, whether core curricula specify dedicated learning outcomes on SUD, establishing a foundation for cross-country comparison. In this case, we present the results of the pilot-testing the future international survey developed to collect data for the main study.

Materials and Methods: We developed the survey instrument, structured around curriculum-integration domains including content coverage, presence of explicit learning outcomes addressing substance use and SUD, introduction of screening tools, practical skills training, and competency assessment. Items use Likert scoring, checkboxes, and open-ended questions. The instrument was piloted among faculty and curriculum leaders at David Tvildiani Medical University (DTMU), Georgia. In parallel, we reviewed DTMU’s MD curriculum against the same domains (using data from study program).

Results: Piloting survey and program analysis of DTMU revealed limited explicit learning outcomes addressing SUD and inconsistent introduction of screening tools within the core curriculum in majority of learning modules, paralleling the knowledge and screening gaps previously identified among practicing physicians.

Conclusions: Our findings identify key curricular areas where substance use education can be strengthened, effectively linking education, research, and clinical care. Developed using grounded theory based on stakeholder experiences, this pilot instrument offers a promising benchmarking tool for European medical curricula. Future refinement will incorporate input from curriculum leaders prior to wider European distribution, ultimately enabling comparative insights into regional educational practices and guiding future curriculum development.