Continuing Education Model for Nurses Regarding Substance Use Disorder

Background: Nurses have reported a lack of knowledge regarding substance use disorder. Previous encounters with the patient population affected by substance use disorder and a lack of knowledge can lead to a lack of perceived competency among nurses. Limited research on continuing education interventions have suggested an improvement in nurses’ knowledge and sense of competency in caring for patients with substance use disorder. Method: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a continuing education intervention on nurses’ knowledge and perceived competency regarding the care of hospitalized patients with substance use disorder. A pre-test/post-test design was utilized to assess changes in knowledge and perceived competency immediately before and after the intervention for 31 hospital nurses using evidence-based tools and measures. Results: Directly following the intervention, knowledge and perceived competency scores were significantly improved among the nurse participants, while there was no statistical significance noted between the demographic characteristics and the pre-test/post-test results. Conclusion: The educational intervention was found to significantly improve knowledge and perceived competency scores among nurses as evidenced by the pre-test/post-test scores. Thus, nurses working with patients diagnosed with substance use disorder could benefit from continuing education on substance use disorder.