Nursing Schools to Combat Opioid Use Disorder-AACN

According to a post on  GANM  by Fernando Mena-Carrasco At a white House event on 29thApril 2016, the Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), will offer remarks at a White House Champions of Change for Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery.

Over the past month, 191 schools of nursing with advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) programs have pledged to educate their APRN students on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain .

"Academic nursing is committed to protecting the public's health by taking decisive action to address the nation's opioid epidemic," said Dr. Trautman. "I applaud my colleagues in the nursing community who have made it a priority to prepare the next generation of APRNs on best practices for prescribing opioids." 

Additionally, AACN, along with the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the American Nurses Association, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, are committing to a joint online educational series that will serve as a resource for practicing nurses, faculty, and students on opioid topics including: an overview of the current need to address opioid use disorder and overdose; integrating timely content into curricula; and the CDC's new prescribing guideline. Continuing education credit will be offered free of charge to participants.