Developing Core Principles for Physical Therapy Education During the US Opioid Emergency
Purpose: The National Academies of Science 2017 report provided a roadmap to health professions to respond to the “opioid crisis” including recommendations to develop curricula targeted to the treatment of pain, and that “require[d] and provide[d] basic training in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).”1 The APTA advocates a primary prevention campaign that encourages physical therapy as an intervention instead of opioids. Physical Therapists have a distinct role in the management of patients with painful conditions, and professional-level education already includes pain science, pain measurement and assessment, pharmacology and pharmacologic intervention. The purpose of this session is to aid the physical therapy education community in recognizing the role the profession plays in secondary and tertiary prevention, a role that engages the profession with patients who have painful conditions, patients who have painful conditions and OUD, and patients who have OUD as a primary diagnosis.Methods and/or Description of Project: In Massachusetts, the Governor’s Opioid Addiction Working Group developed competencies for prescribers on the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse for medical education,2 dental education,3 physician assistant education,4 advanced practice nursing education,5 and social work education.6 The Massachusetts DPT program directors developed a core principles document that describes a model for physical therapy education. This model and the principles ensure that physical therapist graduates will have the skills and knowledge to provide care to a variety of patient populations in a way that minimizes the social stigma and biases that individuals in some of these populations regularly face.Results/Outcomes: The outcomes of the educational session are geared towards enhancing the understanding of the PT academic community about Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and the roles the PT community can play in helping to address this national concern.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: Leadership around the US Opioid Emergency is critical. From the frontline healthcare members working on the ground to assist individuals to our legislative bodies addressing the concern at a national level, as physical therapists and physical therapist educators, our leadership work is on multiple layers. Primary prevention: advocating for PT as opposed to prescription as in the #choosePT campaign; secondary-prevention: reducing the impact for individuals who have painful conditions as well as OUD; and Tertiary-prevention: engaging patients with OUD in physical therapy as an intervention to help them manage the chronic illness, are all parts of our scope of practice. As an active participant in all 3 levels, physical therapists can be leaders in addressing this current national issue and in educating our students, alumnae, and clinical partners we can have a significant impact on the trajectory of this chronic issue.References: 1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Pain management and the opioid epidemic: Balancing societal and individual benefits and risks of prescription opioid use. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24781. 2. Governor’s Medical Education Working Group on Prescription Drug Misuse. 2015. Medical education core competencies for the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/prescriber-education- core-competencies. 3. Governor’s Dental Education Working Group on Prescription Drug Misuse. 2016. Dental education core competencies for the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/prescriber-education- core-competencies. 4. Governor’s Physician Assistant Education Working Group on Prescription Drug Misuse. 2016. Physician Assistant education core competencies for the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse. https://www.mass.gov/service- details/prescriber-education-core-competencies. 5. Governor’s Advanced Practice Nursing Education Working Group on Prescription Drug Misuse. 2016. Advanced Practice Nursing education core competencies for the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/prescriber-education-core-competencies. 6. Governor’s Social Work Education Working Group on Substance Misuse. 2016. Social Work education core principles for the prevention and management of substance misuse. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/prescriber-education-core- competencies.Course Objectives: Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to: 1) Define opioids and the epidemiology of the opioid epidemic. 2) Identify core principles for the education of physical therapy professionals within the context of the current US opioid emergency. 3) Identify 2 approaches for the implementation for core principles within physical therapy education. 4) Identify a policy approach to working with state agencies in promoting physical therapy as a provider of care with skills and knowledge that are needed in the opioid epidemic.Instructional Methods: Lecture, Audience Engagement/ Activity, Question/AnswerTentative Outline/Schedule: 20 minutes – Background information about Opioids/ Opioids Epidemic 20 minutes – Model for Core Principles – Development Process, Adoption, Content 20 minutes – Policy approach to adoption and public acceptance through MA Chapter and MA Governor’s Office 20 minutes – Implementation Models 10 minutes – Questions/ Answers