Interprofessional education for teaching Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for substance use

Abstract The rate of substance use disorders (SUD) within the U.S. is alarmingly high. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an estimated 23.9 million Americans ages 12 or older use an illicit drug or misuse a psychotherapeutic medication each month. 1 Patients presenting for anesthesia care are not exempt, and neither are our colleagues. While education and training about SUDs does happen in health professional programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, it is often difficult to describe practical solutions to this issue. The Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Interprofessional Groups of Anesthesia Students (InGAS) Project seeks to rectify this situation through didactic and simulation-based interprofessional education. Participants report gaining skills in substance use screening and are more comfortable using SBIRT techniques. Future efforts will be focused on refining the training process by expanding the scope of the simulation scenarios and thus, the opportunity for effective interventions.