Provider Clinical Support System

Welcome to SUDucate

What is SUDucate?
Azusa Pacific University (APU) Schools of Nursing and Behavioral and Applied Sciences made possible through grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has created a web-based asynchronous learning management system that houses educational training on co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

Training Activities
The goal of these training activities is to better equip nursing and clinical psychology students/trainees with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to reduce risks and promote recovery among patient populations with co-occurring substance use needs, and in the long run, reduce the overall morbidity and mortality associated with substance use challenges. Each of the educational training activities listed below are designed to address the need for integrating substance use education/training into psychology and nursing education and training that is not commonly offered in the curriculum.

The substance use education training is comprised of a range of Learning Activities that cover a range of topics related to the screening, assessment and treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance use issues.
The learning activities are designed to be asynchronous learning experiences for students/trainees and consist of recorded webinars and videos from a professional development program directed by Dr. Rachel Castaneda with contributions from a variety of specialty trainers, with input from SAMHSA, LA County Department of Public Health.

Learning activities can be integrated into courses in a variety of ways including assignments, supplemental lectures, and additional coursework.

What is SBIRT?
SBIRT has been identified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) as an evidence-based practice. To be considered “evidence-based,” the practices have demonstrated measurable impact on a desired outcome, gauged by rigorous that incorporate valid and reliable comparison group designs. SBIRT is classified as an evidence-based “early prevention” practice focused on getting individuals to reduce risky substance use patterns to help prevent the escalation to substance use disorders and mitigate harmful effects associated with use over time. The acronym SBIRT stands for three separate practices including:

“S” – Screening: The screening practice integrates short screening tools that have been validated for use in behavioral health and community settings to identify substance use “risk.”

“BI” - Brief Intervention: The brief intervention has been identified as an evidence based practice for discussing substance use “risk” using basic behavior change steps supported by motivational interviewing and stages of change frameworks.

“RT” - Referral to Treatment: The referral to treatment practice focuses on providing the individuals identified to be at “high” risk with care coordination/linkages to systems that can address risk areas, including specialty services for substance use disorders (SUDs), primary care, or mental health needs.

Federally, under Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reform and Medi-Cal in the State of California, health professionals who conduct SBIRT must complete a 4-hour training. The SBIRT training is a comprehensive 6-module interactive training that meets the State of California Department of Healthcare Services-DHCS 4-hour requirement for practice reimbursement. The training is completed in sequence and includes the following learning Modules:

•Module 1: The Epidemiology and Science of Substance Use Disorders
•Module 2: The Practice of SBIRT in Behavioral Healthcare Fields
•Module 3: Evidence based Screening for Identifying Substance Use Risk
•Module 4: Brief Motivational Interventions with Patients with Substance Use Risk
•Module 5: Making Referrals to Specialty Substance Use Disorder Treatment Settings
•Module 6: Ethical Practice Guidelines and Special Cultural and Faith Considerations

What is Addiction Medication Treatment?
The opioid epidemic is affecting millions of individuals nationwide. Addiction medication treatment is the use of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Medications for Addictions to relieve withdrawal symptoms and cravings that cause chemical imbalances in the brain and body. Medications used for treatment are evidence-based treatment options and include, Acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone are the most common drugs used to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). Buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone are used to treat opioid use disorders (OUD) to short-acting opioids such as heroin, morphine, and codeine, as well as semi-synthetic opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone. Naloxone saves lives by reversing the toxic effects of overdose. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), naloxone is one of a number of medications considered essential to a functioning health care system.

8 Hour ASAM Training: 8-Hour MAT Waiver Training
This training is provided by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and covers the required education needed for NPs to obtain the waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. The curriculum covers all treatment options for opioid use disorder and provides the required education to qualify for the waiver to prescribe buprenorphine in an office-based setting. This 8-hour Training contains 4 modules:

🕘 Module 1: The Science and the Law
History, Epidemiology & Trends and the Neurobiology of OUDs
Legislation and Opioid Pharmacology
Treatment Medications for OUD: Efficacy and Safety of Naltrexone and Methadone
Efficacy & Safety of Buprenorphine

🕘 Module 2: Implementing Office-based Opioid Treatment
Patient Assessment & Office Management
Case Study A: Emma
Buprenorphine Induction, Maintenance and Taper
Naltrexone Induction, Maintenance & the Role of Non-Pharmacotherapy ξ Case Study B: Robert
Case Study C: Paula
Patient Monitoring, Assessing and Managing Relapse
Case Study D: Jonathan

🕘 Module 3: Special Populations
Adolescents & Young Adults
Pregnancy, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, & Breastfeeding
Medical Co-Morbidities
Psychiatric Co-Morbidities
Managing Pain

🕘 Module 4: Interactive Clinical Studies
Susan’s Clinical Case Review
Katie’s Clinical Case Review
Sam’s Clinical Case Review
Mark’s Clinical Case Review
Sophia’s Clinical Case Review

This website provides access to these trainings that help students fulfill course requirements. Please register/log-in to access the trainings.