Background: There were 527,000 hospitalizations due to opioid use in 2012, which equates to more than $15 billion in medical care costs (Ronan & Herzig, 2016). Providers report significant barriers in treating patients with substance use disorders (SUDs), including feelings of unpreparedness to treat addiction (Calcaterra et al., 2021). Advance practice provider (APP) education lacks formal addiction medicine training. This is problematic, because regardless of APP specialty, caring for those with SUDs will be encountered in practice. Unlike medical doctors, APPs have the capability of moving from specialty to specialty, which presents a unique opportunity to address substance use disorders in a variety of clinical settings and fill a known treatment gap. Advanced Practice Fellows (APFs) are traditionally APPs who have just graduated from nurse practitioner or physician associate school and have voluntarily chosen to complete post-graduate training in a specialty of their choosing. This post-graduate training is an ideal time to incorporate exposure to management of patients with SUDs, thus the creation of the “APF Addiction Medicine Curriculum.”
Purpose: Our aim is to create a comprehensive addiction medicine curriculum that increases APFs’ comfort with treating and managing patients with SUDs in the hospitalized setting, while also improving their attitudes towards caring for this vulnerable patient population.
Description: A comprehensive addiction medicine curriculum created by faculty addiction medicine APP providers. The content covered includes epidemiology of SUDs, risk factors for SUDs, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria, non-stigmatizing language, opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, stimulant use disorder, harm reduction and community resources. The content is delivered in an in-person lecture format that encourages participation via case-based learning and role playing. Throughout and following each lecture participants are encouraged to ask clarifying questions and even share their experiences treating patients with SUD in the acute care setting. After completion of the course, APFs will be asked to participate in qualitative interviews in an effort to assess the impact of the curriculum on the APFs’ level of comfort, preparedness, and attitudes towards treating these patients within the hospital setting.
Conclusions: By providing addiction medicine specific education to APFs, their comfort in caring for hospitalized patients with SUDs and their outlook toward caring for this population will improve.