SAMHSA grants fund addiction screening training for medical students, residents

Two 3-year grants will fund extensive training in substance abuse screening and intervention in the curriculum for medical students and residents and social work, nursing and pharmacy students at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded $916,851 to Brown University and $788,403 to Rhode Island Hospital to significantly expand the amount of addiction screening and intervention across the state.

“Deaths related to opioid overdose have risen dramatically in the last five to 10 years,” Paul George, MD, of Brown University, said in a press release. “It's something most physicians will see at some point in their career, regardless of what specialty they go into.”

George will develop training for medical students of the Alpert Medical School at Brown University and will collaborate with Rhode Island College to establish curriculum for nursing and social work students and the University of Rhode Island for pharmacy students.

Michael J. Mello, MD, MPH, director of the injury prevention center at Rhode Island Hospital, will develop a training program and curriculum for the hospital's fourth-year medical students and residents in emergency medicine.

Training is based on SBIRT, an evidence-based model of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment, according to Mello.

The curriculum for medical students at Brown University will occur from year 1 to residency, beginning with introductory lectures on pain management for first-year students.

In April, first-year students will join social work, nursing and pharmacy students in workshops where they work together to screen and intervene “standardized patients” who are actors. They will listen to individuals with real experiences with opioid addiction and learn how to administer naloxone.

During the following years, students will work on case studies in class and employ SBIRT among at least five patients during each of their yearly doctoring courses or clerkships.

Nursing, pharmacy and social work students will implement SBIRT during their educational work with community members.

Understanding of SBIRT will become a graduation requirement for medical students, according to the release, and will be part of the Objective Structure Clinical Examination administered in fourth year.

At the Rhode Island Hospital, SBIRT will be integrated into routine clinical care for residents and students who rotate through the ED. Students and residents will use the hospital’s stimulation center and work with patients receiving care at the hospital.

Feedback will be delivered immediately and in weekly conferences.

The grant will also fund training for attending physicians to supervise and evaluate the SBIRT practices of residents and students, according to Mello.

Many curricular materials have been developed for SBIRT training since the grants began in October. Implementation in the classroom, doctor’s office, workshops and ED will being in the 2016 spring semester.