James Madison University Substance Use Disorder Education (JMU-SUDE) is a strategic training program designed to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and aspirations required for treatment of substance use disorder across seven academic departments in the College of Health and Behavioral Studies (CHBS). The training design is a collaborative approach between the following academic units: Nursing, Social Work, Graduate Psychology, Health Professions (e.g. Athletic Training, Dietetics, Occupational Therapy and Physician’s Assistant programs), Health Sciences, Kinesiology, and Communication Sciences and Disorders. The JMU students, faculty and field supervisors are the populations served by this program in classroom instruction, field experiences, and conference presentations. A primary educational component is a comprehensive training program presented in eight training modules on the JMU SUDE Canvas Course.
The training includes strategic and stepwise development and provision of inter-professional training for faculty, students, and local health workers to learn the necessary skills and knowledge to provide SBIRT (screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment) for individuals who are at risk or have been identified as having a substance use disorder. To provide current information for a research-based understanding of substance abuse disorder (SUD), training includes concepts of recent advances in neurobiological foundations of addictions, harm reduction, medically assisted treatment, trauma/ACEs, and motivational interviewing. Training is designed to provide knowledge and skills that will also impact the level of inter-professional work, reduce stigma by addressing attitudes toward addictions, and increase aspirations in health professionals for treating individuals with substance use disorders.
