The University of Pittsburgh's Working Group on Interprofessional Education (WGOIPE) has assembled a wide-array of publically and/or university accessible resources to guide and inform curriculum planning and development related to the opioid epidemic. Through making resources available and connecting faculty from various disciplines, WGOIPE hopes to integrate opioid prescribing and pain management education and opportunities for interprofessional learning and collaboration into the curriculum of all University of Pittsburgh's Schools of Health Sciences.
Public Commitments by Pitt Health Sciences Schools:
PittPharmacy is one of 54 US colleges and schools of pharmacy that agreed to the following statement of educational commitment through the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy:
- Beginning or by fall 2016, my institution will educate each student pharmacist about life-saving overdose interventions, including naloxone, and how to counsel patients, individuals, families and other loved ones, who may encounter those persons at risk from overdose from opioid use, on appropriate use of these lifesaving medications.
- Beginning or by fall 2016, my institution will require our student pharmacists to take some form of prescriber education, in line with the newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, in order to graduate.
- Read the Pledge
The School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh is among the 191 US schools of nursing with advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) programs that have pledged through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to educate their APRN students on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. The addition of this content compliments the information APRN students currently receive on such topics as pain management and substance abuse.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is one of 69 US medical schools that signed onto the following Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) commitment:
- We are unwavering in our commitment to provide robust instruction and raining across our programs to ensure that our graduates are equipped to meet these challenges. In addition to training, our scientific research on addiction, pain, the brain, and behavior continues to advance our understanding of the complexities of this issue and direct how we can best respond within the context of policy and medicine. Similarly, our institutions are promoting clinical innovations in care to combat opioid dependence.
- Read the Pledge
Resources:
- CDC Guidelines: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm
- Scope of Pain educational resources: https://www.scopeofpain.com/
- Overdose Free PA: http://www.overdosefreepa.pitt.edu/education-toolbox/healthcare-professionals/
- The Incidental Economist -- Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll frame the issue and explain its implications: theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/healthcare-triage-special-the-history-of-opioids/
- Sponsored by Healthy START, Born High the Impact of Opioid Addiction on Pregnancy & Parenting
- PBS Special: As Opioid Epidemic Worsens, Rethinking How Doctors are Taught to Treat Pain
- Cases being developed through the NIH Center of Excellence in Pain Education project
- Online Guide to Resources on Opioid Abuse
Ongoing Pitt-led Initiatives:
- PittPharmacy's work in the pain management/opioid crisis
- Dr. Jan Pringle's involvement in the Office of National Drug Control Policy