Training Nurses in the Management of Opioid Addiction with Buprenorphine: Findings examining an Online Course

The rates of heroin use, heroin-related emergency room mentions, heroin-related overdose deaths, and the proportion of opioid-related addiction treatment admissions steadily and sharply rose throughout the 1990s-trends that appear to be continuing. Primary care clinicians and nurses typically underrecognize substance-related disorders. Furthermore, when they identify these disorders, they may lack information or skills required to effectively work with patients who have substance-related disorders. This is especially true in relation to the use of Buprenorphine in the office-based treatment of opioid dependence. With Phase I funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Social Solutions International has developed an online course for nurses, entitled: Nursing Management of Opioid Addiction with Buprenorphine. This course was designed to provide nurses with the information and skills needed to identify and treat opioid addicted patients. The course includes six one- hour modules covering a variety of topics, such as:

• Legislative changes regarding Office-Based Opioid Addiction Treatment;

• The Pharmacology, Effectiveness, and Safety of Buprenorphine;

• Patient Assessment and Suitability;

• Clinical Management Issues;

• Addiction Treatment Issues; and

• Nurse-Physician Collaboration.

The provision of current, accurate, and timely information about approaches to substance abuse treatment is vital for nurses who work with patients with substance-related disorders. In an effort to ensure acceptability and feasibility of the online course, a pilot study was conducted with 21 nurses/nursing students from the University of Maryland, School of Nursing. This presentation will describe the development of the online course and will report the pilot test findings.