OPIOIDS & SUBSTANCE USE
AFPC OPIOID WORKING GROUP
AFPC established an Opioid Working Group to action our commitments in the Joint Statement of Action to Address the Opioid Crisis in Canada. At the November 2016 national summit, over 30 partners signed action-oriented commitments to improve prevention, treatment and harm reduction associated with problematic opioid use. AFPC committed to conduct an environmental scan and to develop recommendations and competencies for pharmacists in pain, opioids, and opioid overdose and opioid use disorder.
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The AFPC Opioid Working Group is chaired by Dr. Beth Sproule and includes representatives from each of the 10 pharmacy schools in Canada. The following reports were developed and approved by the AFPC Council of Faculties in June 2018:
OPIOID USE & OPIOID USE DISORDER PROJECT
With funding from Health Canada, AFPC partnered with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) and the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE-ACFTS) on the Health Professional Education – Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder (HPE-OUOUD) Project. The goal of this project is to empower the next generation of health care and social service professionals with the knowledge, skills, tools and supports to address opioid-related harms in Canada. The guidelines, protocols, e-resource and other tools developed through the HPE-OUOUD project will help ensure that future nurses, pharmacists and social workers are prepared to enter the work force well-equipped to address issues related to opioid use with current best practices in health promotion, prevention, harm reduction and treatment.
Opioid e-Resource
A key element of HPE-OUOUD is the Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder Education Resource, an extensive bilingual, online resource developed provide relevant, evidence-informed knowledge to address issues related to opioid use and opioid use disorder across the prevention, health promotion, harm reduction, treatment and recovery continuums at primary, secondary and tertiary care levels.
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Developed by the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy, this free e-Resource is for faculty and students in entry-level nursing, pharmacy and social work programs, as well as practising nurses, pharmacists and social workers. It provides information, teaching and learning materials, and tools related to the education guidelines to provide greater and more in-depth content support to foster the integration of the interprofessional guidelines into the curricula of member schools. These resources can be used as part of a syllabus, as required reading, as a classroom activity or for self-directed learning.
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There are 8 modules in the e-Resource, with 65 topics about opioids. The modules are mapped to learning outcomes and indicators found in the Interprofessional Education Guidelines on Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder (Lignes directrices pour la formation interprofessionnelle sur l’usage d’opioïdes et les troubles de consommation d’opioïdes), making them ideal for faculty to review prior to curriculum or course development. There is also a Lived Experience section, a Protocol on Stigma and an extensive list of additional resources, including substance use and COVID-19.