Academic Training Information

Several versions of the student-focused trainings are available for outside faculty to use and modify for their purposes. Each training consists of a ~2 hour interprofessional session using standardized patients and/or video scenarios. Through guided discussion of patient cases, the trainings facilitate communication of interprofessional student teams of primary care providers / prescribers (PCP’s), nurses, pharmacists, social workers, behavioral health professionals, and others. The curriculum, grounded in the interprofessional education core competencies (IPEC, 2016), focuses on roles and responsibilities of all team members (including the patient), communication, teams and teamwork, values, and ethical decision-making.

Longitudinal patient case

The student-focused curriculum consists of a longitudinal patient case of Sam Jones, a 63-year-old retired lawyer with chronic back pain who is prescribed opioids. Students interact with Sam through two separate patient encounters:

• Visit 1 titled “Interprofessional Team-based Opioid Education”
• Visit 2 titled “Interprofessional Team-based Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) Education”

During Visit 1, Sam expresses continued back pain despite large doses of opioid pain medications and shows depressive symptoms. Through the case activities, students learn Sam is receiving additional opioid prescriptions from other sources including urgent care and emergency room visits. During the IPE session, student teams review and discuss the patient case including information such as screening tool results and mock prescription monitoring program reports. Depending on the version, student teams then interview a standardized patient, design a holistic treatment plan, and discuss the treatment plan with the standardized patient. Depending on resources, faculty can choose to present this IPE session using videoconferencing or in-person versions of the curriculum with either standardized patients or unfolding video cases. Upon completion of the Visit 1 IPE sessions, learners should be able to do the following:

1. Describe the roles and responsibilities of the healthcare team and how they work together to provide team-based care to patients using opioids.
2. Utilize appropriate non-stigmatizing language when caring for patients taking or potentially misusing opioids.
3. Express one’s knowledge and opinions to healthcare team members with confidence, clarity, and respect, working to ensure common understanding of information, treatment, and care decisions.
4. As a member of the healthcare team, evaluate a patient for potential opioid misuse or opioid use disorder.
5. Differentiate between treatment options for a patient with an opioid use disorder and/or pain management.
6. Work collaboratively with the healthcare team and the patient to develop a patient care plan.

In Visit 2, approximately 3 weeks later, Sam reports withdrawal symptoms while attempting to follow the recommendations given at the last visit. He also notes increased alcohol use and more severe depressive symptoms. During this IPE session, student teams review and discuss the patient case and watch a patient-provider interaction video. Students then have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions to a standardized patient playing Sam as part of a large group. Student teams then design a holistic treatment plan. Upon completion of the Visit 2 IPE sessions, learners should be able to do the following:

1. Recognize current, evidence-based treatment principles and guidelines for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).
2. Utilize Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) as a tool for identifying patients with potential SUD.
3. Apply principles of MAT, specifically for OUD.
4. Apply principles of MAT, specifically for AUD.
5. Work collaboratively with an interprofessional team to create a Holistic IP Treatment Plan for a patient who has potential SUD.

Instructor resources for the student-focused trainings:

The following faculty materials are available for each version of the opioid education training. These materials can be accessed on the Academic Training Materials page.

How to access:

If you are interested in accessing this academic training, please complete the brief registration form below. You will receive an email with instructions about how to access the materials within approximately 5 business days.

Interprofessional Opioid Curriculum is licensed to Washington State University under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Please refer to the Creative Commons license link for terms of use.