This course is designed to teach healthcare professionals effective pain management methods that do not rely on opioids. It encourages the use of patient-centered approaches, various therapies, technology, and self-care strategies while collaborating with the interprofessional team. Overcoming obstacles, such as stigma and unequal access to pain treatments, is emphasized to improve pain management practices.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic but treatable disease. The problematic use of available and accessible opioids in the community contributes to rising numbers of deaths caused by overdose, compounding a public health crisis. Behavioral health professionals are well poised to address preventable deaths caused by OUD by learning about the factors involved in its development, symptoms, and effective person-centered and recovery-oriented treatments.

Misuse of prescribed controlled substances can lead to serious consequences, including addiction and overdose. This course will provide registered nurses with an overview of substance use disorder and a review on how to identify signs and symptoms of misuse and abuse. The course will also discuss safe and effective approaches to managing the care of patients with substance use disorder.

The goal of this course is to educate nurses on substance use disorder and how to identify patients who are misusing controlled substances.

This course explores the risk factors for opioid misuse and reviews the classification of opioid use disorder. It also provides an overview of assessment and management tools and strategies that can be employed to ensure safe and effective pain management for patients using opioid medications.

This course equips healthcare professionals with essential knowledge and practical skills to address the growing concern of prescription drug misuse and diversion. Controlled substances such as opioids, sedatives/tranquilizers, and stimulants are the most misused and diverted drugs. Strategies for reducing misuse and diversion will be presented.

The goal of this course is to inform healthcare team members about their role in the recognition and prevention of drug misuse and diversion in the acute care setting.

The Opioid Epidemic is a major public health crisis, leading to widespread addiction, overdose, and death. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the epidemic, covering the classification and pharmacology of opioids, the mechanisms of addiction, and the societal impact of opioid misuse.

Participants will learn how opioids interact with the nervous system, the progression from prescription misuse to illicit drug use, and key public health interventions aimed at mitigating the crisis. The course will also explore clinical management strategies, including opioid overdose response, withdrawal treatment, and harm reduction approaches like naloxone distribution and treatment. 

Americans are using opioids at an alarming rate, whether through prescriptions or illegal means. Parallel to this problem is the use of opioids during pregnancy.

The goal for this course is to present RNs, PAs, physicians, and entry-level drug and alcohol counselors in inpatient or outpatient settings with best practices for identifying and managing pregnant women who are using opioids.

Opioid misuse is a leading cause of unintentional injury and death among adolescents and young adults (Hudgins et al., 2019). More than 80% of adolescents who die from an opioid overdose do so accidentally, reflecting in part their lack of understanding and underestimation of the dangers inherent in the misuse of opioid medications (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023).

Along with the increased risk of lethal overdose, adolescents who misuse prescription opioids are at increased risk of severe medical complications that necessitate emergency treatment, progression to drugs with even greater potential for lethality such as heroin, and the development of a substance use disorder (Davis et al., 2020).

The goal of this course is to provide addictions, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, nursing, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human services with information on the development, prevalence, and treatment of opioid use disorders in adolescent and young adult populations.