Marie Fioravanti

Effects of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Education and Training on Nursing Students’ Attitudes Toward Working With Patients Who Use Alcohol and Drugs

ABSTRACT Background: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) can reduce alcohol use and negative health outcomes in patients with risky substance use. However, negative attitudes that some health care professionals have toward patients who use substances are a barrier to implementing SBIRT. Methods: The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, in partnership with the Institute for Research, Education, and Training in Addictions (IRETA), developed a curriculum to train baccalaureate student nurses to deliver SBIRT. Results: Following SBIRT education and training, students’ perceived attitudes toward patients who use alcohol became more positive. Less robust changes were found for attitudes related to patients who use drugs. Conclusions: Nurses composing the largest group of healthcare workers are in key positions to screen, intervene, and provide education about substance use.

Identifying at risk individuals for drug and alcohol dependence: teaching the competency to students in classroom and clinical settings.

Alcohol use and other drug use affect patient healthcare outcomes. This article describes a classroom-to-clinical approach teaching nursing students to utilize motivational interviewing techniques to support patient behavior change. Through the lens of a universal prevention method, nursing students learned about reward circuit activation leading to risky substance use and the difference between addiction and at-risk use. Specific assessment tools and motivational interviewing techniques were presented in the classroom. Students then applied their knowledge in simulation laboratories and clinical rotations.

Creative Learning Through the Use of Simulation to Teach Nursing Students Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment for Alcohol and Other Drug Use in a Culturally Competent Manner:

Introduction: Cultural competency is an integral component in undergraduate nursing education to provide patient-centered care and addressing patients’ cultural differences. Students need to consider the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use/misuse in patients from all cultures. This project combines cultural competency education, simulation, and educating students to use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for alcohol and other drug use. Method: Culturally diverse simulation scenarios were developed and used in the simulation lab with students to reduce stigma surrounding other cultures while learning an evidence-based practice to screen and intervene with patients who use/misuse substances. Results: Results show students value simulation and 91% of the students felt that they were able to apply culturally competent knowledge after the simulation experience. Discussion: Cultural competency principles can be embedded in teaching the broader evidence-based practice of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment with undergraduate students. This is a replicable teaching methodology that could be adapted in other schools of nursing.

Interprofessional collaborative practice incorporating training for alcohol and drug use screening for healthcare providers in rural areas

ABSTRACT Interprofessional collaborative practice expands resources in rural and underserved communities. This article explores the impact of an online education programme on the perceptions of healthcare providers about interprofessional care within alcohol and drug use screening for rural residents. Nurses, behavioural health counsellors, and public health professionals participated in an evidence-based practice (screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment—SBIRT) model that targets individuals who use alcohol and other drugs in a risky manner. SBIRT is recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force as a universal, evidence-based screening tool. Online modules, case simulation practice, and interprofessional dialogues are used to deliver practice-based learning experiences. A quasi-experimental method with pre-tests and post-tests was utilised. Results indicate increased perceptions of professional competence, need for cooperation, actual cooperation, and role values pre-to-post training. Implications suggest that online interprofessional education is useful but the added component of professional dialogues regarding patient cases offers promise in promoting collaborative practice.