The inclusion of substance use-related content in advanced practice registered nurse curricula

Nursing Education in the Midst of the Opioid Crisis

“…The current state of addiction content in nursing curricula is inconsistent at best, with some programs offering only a mention of substance use in a mental health course. Curricula on substance use-related content are less than optimum, and schools of nursing have been described as not keeping up with the increasing public health concerns related to substance use disorders (Finnell et al, 2018;Knopf-Amelung et al, 2018;Smothers et al, 2018). Some reasons for the lack of inclusion of substance use education may be due to concerns that the curriculum is an already oversaturated; assumptions that substance use is being taught in the psychiatric nursing or other courses; or that faculty do not have proficiency to teach the subject matter (Smothers et al, 2018).…”

“…Curricula on substance use-related content are less than optimum, and schools of nursing have been described as not keeping up with the increasing public health concerns related to substance use disorders (Finnell et al, 2018;Knopf-Amelung et al, 2018;Smothers et al, 2018). Some reasons for the lack of inclusion of substance use education may be due to concerns that the curriculum is an already oversaturated; assumptions that substance use is being taught in the psychiatric nursing or other courses; or that faculty do not have proficiency to teach the subject matter (Smothers et al, 2018). Nurses are the health care employees who have the most contact with patients, which places them in an ideal position to screen for substance use (Knopf-Amelung et al, 2018;Nash et al, 2017;Oermann, 2018;Savage, Dyehouse, & Marcus, 2014), and providing undergraduate nursing students' with substance use education has been found to build their confidence and competence, as well as reduce stigmatizing attitudes (Koetting & Freed, 2017;Lewis & Jarvis, 2019;Mahmoud et al, 2018;Nash et al, 2017;Smothers et al, 2018).…”

“…Some reasons for the lack of inclusion of substance use education may be due to concerns that the curriculum is an already oversaturated; assumptions that substance use is being taught in the psychiatric nursing or other courses; or that faculty do not have proficiency to teach the subject matter (Smothers et al, 2018). Nurses are the health care employees who have the most contact with patients, which places them in an ideal position to screen for substance use (Knopf-Amelung et al, 2018;Nash et al, 2017;Oermann, 2018;Savage, Dyehouse, & Marcus, 2014), and providing undergraduate nursing students' with substance use education has been found to build their confidence and competence, as well as reduce stigmatizing attitudes (Koetting & Freed, 2017;Lewis & Jarvis, 2019;Mahmoud et al, 2018;Nash et al, 2017;Smothers et al, 2018). There is evidence that some undergraduate programs have introduced substance use education classes and programs; however, these efforts are lacking consistency and it is not known what other substance useerelated content may be included (SBIRT [Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment]; alcohol, tobacco, pain management; stigma; or special populations), how many hours are included, or where in the curriculum the education occurs.…”

“…Similar to the absence of substance use education seen in nursing undergraduate programs, graduate nursing programs are also deficient in substance use education (Covington et al, 2018;Moore et al, 2017;Savage et al, 2018). A survey of 233 advanced practice nurses across specialties found that respondents reported receiving 1.67 (standard deviation [SD] ¼ 1.13) hours of didactic content related to addiction in their graduate programs, with the modal response that no addiction-related content had been included in the curriculum (Campbell-Heider et al, 2009).…”

“…However, as with the undergraduate substance use additions to the curriculum, it is not known what other substance useerelated content (SBIRT; alcohol, tobacco, pain management; stigma; or special populations) has been added or how many hours are included and where in the curriculum the education occurs. For both undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, it is incumbent on faculty initiating these programs to publish the results so that others may benefit in the creation of new educational interventions (Smothers et al, 2018).…”