Addressing Substance Use: PCDC Offers Hands-On Training 10/15
On October 15, the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) will offer an experiential, small group training on Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) — a course in PCDC’s National Training Institute. Staff from health centers and clinics will gather to learn about SBIRT, its impact on patient health, and how to implement its principles in the workplace.
SBIRT is an effective method to proactively identify patients at risk for substance use disorders (SUD), address SUD through a person-centered, evidence-based approach, and support patients to make behavioral changes with help from their care teams. PCDC’s expert facilitators will demonstrate how to incorporate SBIRT into regular primary care visits, which for many patients is their first and only point of health care.
Participants will also learn supporting behavioral concepts and counseling skills and discuss how they relate to SBIRT, including personal bias, trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, and more. Every aspect of the course is informed by the principles of adult learning — a mixture of lecture, brainstorming and discussion, group activities, and independent work ensure the material is retained and immediately applicable in real-world scenarios.
Read about a recent course — The Essentials of Care Management
“Our aim is twofold: to provide an informative and fun learning experience, and to positively impact the quality of care being delivered on the ground,” said Sarahjane Rath, MPH, CHES, Training and Curriculum Development Specialist and an SBIRT course coordinator. “Because all of PCDC’s facilitators have clinical experience, we understand the challenges of implementing new strategies in a health care setting. It is our goal not only to effectively teach the material, but to empower participants to be change agents in their workplaces.”
The SBIRT course will kick off PCDC’s autumn session of the National Training Institute. Other courses offered include Motivational Interviewing, Health Literacy in Action, and Trauma-Informed Care.