COURSE OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this course is to prepare nurses to help prevent prescription drug abuse and diversion through dissemination and implementation of evidence-based information about the current prescription drug abuse epidemic, challenges in managing chronic pain, and best practices for prescribing controlled substances.
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Discuss the epidemiology, trends, contributing factors, and social and economic impacts of prescription drug abuse and diversion.
- Identify risk factors for potential misuse/abuse of prescribed pain medications.
- List the classes of drugs that are most commonly abused and/or diverted.
- Discuss behaviors suggestive of aberrant drug-taking behavior.
- Compare/contrast acute and chronic pain.
- Describe the key components to a balanced approach for prescribing controlled substances.
- Summarize the “Four As” of pain management.
- Describe screening tools for assessing patient risk for opioid addiction.
- Summarize current initiatives aimed at prescription drug abuse diversion.
