Educating nursing students about the secondary prevention of drug and alcohol use

Background: Health care providers skilled in screening for drug and alcohol use are important for effective secondary prevention. However, most healthcare professional training programs lack curricula on substance use disorders and strategies for early intervention or referral to treatment. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for substance use is a brief, systematic educational intervention that can be integrated into nursing and medical schools curricula.

Methods: The curriculum included didactic material on SBIRT and motivational interviewing, role-plays and practice with standardized patients. The knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate nursing students were assessed pre, immediately post and 30-days post program with standardized instruments. Skills and intervention fidelity were assessed immediately post-program and in clinical rotations after completion of the intervention.

Results: Preliminary results with 92 students (with an additional 90 expected in Spring 2015) reported increased knowledge of SBIRT (p<.001), improved attitudes about working with patients who use drugs or alcohol (p=.001), improved perception that intervening related to alcohol and drug use was part of a nursing role, and increased confidence in dealing with substance use issues (p<.001). Students demonstrated baseline competencies in providing the SBIRT intervention.

Conclusions: The development of accurate knowledge and positive attitudes about working with patients who use drugs and alcohol is an important step in effective secondary prevention. The inclusion of teaching skills as part of the SBIRT curriculum provides nursing students with a strong and positive experience with substance use screening early in their professional careers.