Opioid Education Hub for Nurses

Opioid Continuing Education for Nurse Practitioners

Opioid Education for NursesThis Opioid Education Hub is dedicated to the educational needs of nursing health care providers and their patients. Nurses and nurse practitioners are important stakeholders in responsible prescribing of opioids and compassionately meeting the needs of patients in pain. Key impact areas include taking a detailed history and assessing risk associated with family history of substance use, psychiatry illness, and history of sexual trauma or abuse. For individuals prescribed opioids, follow-up, monitoring, and referral to a pain specialist or for further follow-up if there is reason to believe an opioid use disorder has developed is essential. As with any chronic disease, evidence-based pain management must be central to nursing practice. Finally, as frontline health care provider, patient education about their medicine, safe disposal of opioids, and protections against diversion are best practices for patient care.

A Way Forward: How Naloxone Saves Lives from Opioid Overdose


Increasing access to naloxone is essential to reducing overdose mortality. Strategies for increasing access must be thoughtfully developed and deployed to ensure that naloxone is available to any at-risk individual—whether that be an individual with chronic pain or someone with a substance use disorder—without the burden of stigma or judgement. CMEO convened an expert panel led by Dr. Mark Gold to discuss barriers and opportunities for distribution of naloxone to those at risk for overdose in the community. This white paper, A Way Forward: How Naloxone Saves Lives from Opioid Overdose reviews the data used by the panelists to establish their positions and recommendations for the way forward.

Heeding the Call for Safe and Responsible Pain Management in Our Communities

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This webcast features an expert faculty panel discussion on the underlying mechanisms of acute and chronic pain pathways and how to utilize this knowledge to implement appropriate pain management strategies and educate patients about their pain, thus optimizing safe and effective, multimodal treatment plans. Completion of the post-test and evaluation is necessary to meet the requirements of REMS. CME Outfitters is responsible for submitting your completion information to the FDA.

Putting Pressure on Opioid Prescribing: Novel Approaches to Pain Management

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Opioids continue to impact all corners of the United States and its communities, a burden that continues to grow at a rapid pace. The current opioid crisis is incredibly challenging for both patients and health care providers (HCPs). There has been a 30% increase in overdoses among men and a 24% increase among women, with all ages affected. While changing these current trends is important, it cannot be accomplished by policy changes alone. There is no one size fits all model for communities to address this crisis.  This activity is also available as a podcast>>

Time To Listen: What The Experts Have To Say About Safe Opioid Prescribing And Addiction Treatment

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This CME Outfitters activity features insight from this panel of experts on the challenges, consequences, and opportunities for the development of education to help meet the pain management needs of patients amid rising concerns of addiction and diversion.

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: Reducing the Burden of Pain in a Changing Treatment Landscape

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Developing actionable steps to promote appropriate prescribing for individuals with acute and chronic pain is imperative to curbing the impact of the growing opioid crisis facing our communities.

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: New Approaches to Safe and Effective Pain Management

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In part 2 of this 3-part series, expert faculty focus on the four-step approach that follows the SOAP (Subjective-Objective-Assessment-Plan) approach to pain management, as well as principles of communication with patients experiencing pain in order to help clinicians appropriately prescribe the best therapy for pain management in each patient.

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: Principles of Communication and Recognizing Patient Needs

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The conclusion of this 3-part series features expert faculty focusing on a collaborative patient-centered approach in order to guide optimal pain management, which includes applying an evidence-based approach to chronic pain management and improving prescribing practices through pharmacovigilance.

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: A Call to Action to Save Our Communities

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Join Dr. Gold and Dr. Stanos in augmented reality illustration of pain management strategies to optimize safe and responsible management of acute and chronic pain. This activity is also available as a podcast>>

Championing Change: Addressing Addiction in our Communities

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In this CME Snack, Jessica Nickel, founder of the Addiction Policy Forum, and Dr. Mark Gold focus on community-based strategies to provide an effective care settings for those dealing with substance use disorder.  This activity is also available as a podcast>>

Opioid Red Flags: Examining the Options and Taking the Next Steps

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The final episode of this CME Outfitters Briefcase series focuses on identifying the red flags of OUD and best options for taking the next steps to engage patients and develop appropriate treatment strategies.

Download the podcast transcript.

Can an Over the Counter Drug Really Take Care of Post-Operative Pain?

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In the first episode of this CMEOCast podcast series on practice guidelines for pain management, expert faculty discuss utilizing a validated tool to assess patients for risk of misuse and diversion of opioids, as well as applying evidence that supports non-opioid management and whether over the counter treatment options can adequately treat post-operative pain.

Patient Education to Manage Expectations About Pain and Pain Management

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This podcast is the second episode in a CMEOCast series and focuses on making informative treatment decisions for pain management in order to change habits and improve outcomes. As part of that process is to educate patients in order to manage their expectations, it features expert faculty discussing strategies on how to best assess patients for misuse and communicate necessary information with patients.

Myth Busting about NSAIDs and Bone Health

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The third episode of this CMEOCast series focuses on busting these myths about NSAIDs and bone health by applying evidence and guideline recommendations that support non-opioid pain management in treatment decision-making.

Talking Safety and NSAIDs

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Following the CMEOCast podcast episode that busts the aforementioned NSAID myths, this fourth and final episode in the series features expert faculty discussing the precautions to take when prescribing NSAIDs for acute and chronic pain.

The Role of the Pharmacist in Identifying Signs of Opioid Use Disorder

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This CMEOCast podcast episode features expert faculty focused on the role of the pharmacist in communicating with patients about their prescribed opioids and in recommending and/or dispensing naloxone to individuals prescribed opioids who may be at risk for overdose, and available options for medicated assisted treatment (MAT).

Team-Based Strategies to Address Patients’ Pain Needs

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In this CMEOCast podcast about team-based strategies that address patients’ pain needs, expert faculty discuss the management of pain from acute injury, dental procedures, and minor surgery as well as that of patients with chronic pain, including strategies that promote improved communication among the treatment team and educating patients about their pain.

Resources

Resources for Teens and College Students

Animations

Understanding Addiction

The Addiction Policy Forum is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating addiction as a major health problem. Our national headquarters are located in Washington, DC with resources and services in every state.

Why are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

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The Disease Model of Addiction

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Naloxone Toolkit

Naloxone Administration

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Naloxone Facts

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Addiction & the Brain

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Facts About Drugs of Abuse

Blog

Brainstorming Opioid Addiction through Merged Perspectives: Learnings from Roundtable Discussions

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According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 115 people die each day in the United States due to an opioid overdose. To better understand the nation’s current epidemic, CME Outfitters recently brought together the perspectives of those most impacted by opioids in hopes of creating more effective strategies to avoid addiction in the coming years. These roundtable discussions, hosted by CME Outfitters, first pulled the experiences of both patients and their loved ones who have been affected by opioid dependency. Read more about the the four key takeaways that we learned.

From Analytics to Understanding: A Look Into Our 3D Pain Animation’s Debut at CME Outfitters’ Opioid Epidemic Premiere Symposium

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Family medicine providers are uniquely qualified to lead the charge for precise and responsible prescribing for acute and chronic pain. Family medicine is at the forefront of managing chronic illness, handling comorbidities, and coordinating care for their patients. A recent live meeting held at the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) used an animated 3-D model that learners were able to move, rotate, and zoom as they explored acute and chronic pain pathways.