The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) is the national voice for nursing education, research, and scholarship, and represents baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in Canada. CASN’s objective is to lead nursing education and nursing scholarship in the interest of healthier Canadians. To that end, CASN is the accrediting body for nursing schools in Canada, develops curriculum guidelines and offers continuing education courses for nurse educators. More detailed information can be found at http://www.casn.ca/
The Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC) is the national non-profit organization advocating the interests of pharmacy education and educators in Canada. Representing the ten Canadian Pharmacy Faculties including their faculty and students pursuing undergraduate professional or graduate training, AFPC is committed to the development of and excellence in pharmacy education. More detailed information can be found at https://www.afpc.info
The Canadian Association for Social Work Education – l’Association canadienne pour la formation en travail social (CASWE-ACFTS) is a national, charitable, association of university faculties, schools, departments, and modules offering social work education in Canada. The Association’s primary mandate is to support the promotion of excellence in social work education, scholarship, and practice. This mandate is primarily carried out through the accreditation of BSW and MSW social work programs, research, the publication of a journal, and an annual conference. More detailed information can be found at https://caswe-acfts.ca
In September 2018, Health Canada granted funding to the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) in partnership with the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC) and the Canadian Association for Social Work Education – Association canadienne pour la formation en travail social (CASWE-ACFTS), for a joint three-year project entitled “Empowering the next generation of health care and social service professionals with knowledge, skills, tools, and supports to address substance use issues in Canada”.
The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) in partnership with the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC) and the Canadian Association for Social Work Education – Association canadienne pour la formation en travail social (CASWE-ACFTS), with funding support from Health Canada, have committed to working together to collaboratively foster curricular change in education programs for registered nurses, pharmacists, and social workers across Canada.
The goal of the project is to ensure that health care and social service providers enter the workforce well equipped with relevant, evidence-informed knowledge to address issues related to opioid use and opioid use disorder across the prevention, health promotion, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery continuums at primary, secondary, and tertiary care levels.
This project embraces a public health approach to prevention, health promotion (social determinants of health (SDOH)), harm reduction, treatment, and recovery and wellbeing related to opioid use and opioid use disorder. The three partnering associations, CASN, AFPC, and CASWE-ACFTS, will carry out the following activities:
The project work is guided by an Advisory Committee. CASN, AFPC, and CASWE-ACFTS will involve faculty from each discipline, nurses, pharmacists and social workers in practice and policy, other professional associations involved in opioid use, treatment and mental health, as well as persons with lived experience/persons using drugs/persons with opioid use disorder, etc. By involving a large number of diverse stakeholders in the creation of the project’s outputs, the goal is that many will champion the outputs once they are complete and that these final outputs will be applicable in all settings across Canada.
The intended outcomes of this project are that:
Ultimately, it is expected that as a result of this project, Canadians will receive better care from nurses, pharmacists, and social workers who have been educated on prevention, health promotion (SDOH), treatment, harm reduction, and recovery and wellbeing related to opioid use and opioid use disorder.
Production of this resource has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC) and the Canadian Association for Social Work Education – Association canadienne pour la formation en travail social (CASWE-ACFTS) gratefully acknowledge the expertise, time, and contribution of all those who engaged in the development of the Interprofessional Education Guidelines and accompanying E-Resource on Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder. In addition to the project’s dedicated Advisory Committee and Education Working Group, we extend special thanks to the multiple stakeholders across Canada who provided their feedback and expertise. We are particularly grateful to those with lived experience of opioid use and/or opioid use disorder who offered their time and expertise to inform the project. Special thanks to those who provided their expertise in gender (Nancy Poole, Lorraine Greaves), race (Kathy Hogarth), and Indigenous (Tina Ticao, Jaris Swidrovich, Juanita Rickard, Percy Lezard and Gaylene Potter) consultations.
The Health and Social Service Professional Education on Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder
| Name | Title | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Noelle Patten (Co-chair) | Associate Registrar – Quality Assurance | Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board, National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities |
| Vicki Smyea (Co-chair) | Associate Professor | Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University; CASN Board |
| Josette Roussel | Program Lead, Nursing Practice & Policy | Canadian Nurses Association/ Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada |
| Craig Plain | Pharmacist | Canadian Pharmacists Association |
| Fred Phelps | Executive Director | Canadian Association of Social Workers |
Helen Stokes |
Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization | Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction |
| Kiran Somjee | Knowledge Broker, Strategic Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization |
Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction |
| Alison Wainwright | Director, Quality Assurance, British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals | Canadian Council of Registered Nurse Regulators |
| Jody-Lee Farrah | Associate Director | Alberta College of Social Workers; representing Lynn King, President of Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators |
| Beth Sproule | Clinician Scientist | Centre for Addictions and Mental Health; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto |
| Brendan Barlow | Social worker, Child and Youth Special Needs | Ministry of Children and Family Development, British Columbia |
| Murray Weeks | Part-Time Faculty; Opioid Provincial Coordinator | School of Social Work, St. Thomas University; Department of Health, New Brunswick |
| Alexandra de Kiewit | Advocate for persons who use drugs | Member of Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD); Cactus; Positive Leadership Development Institute facilitator; CATIE board member |
| Sean Leblanc | Advocate for persons who use drugs | Member of CAPUD and Drug Users Advocacy League |
| Bernie Paulya | Professor and scientist | School of Nursing, University of Victoria; Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research |
| Abe Oudshoorna | Assistant Professor | Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University |
| Christine Leonga | Assistant Professor | College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba |
| Michael Beazelya | Associate Professor | School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo |
| Dana Turcottea | Clinical Assistant Professor and Clinical Pharmacist | College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba |
| Christopher Smitha | Assistant Professor | School of Social Work, Memorial University |
| Céline Bellota | Directrice de département; Professeure titulaire | École de travail social, Université de Montréal |
| Anita Vaillancourta | Assistant Professor | School of Social Work and Human Services, University of the Fraser Valley |
| Nancy Poole | Director | Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health |
| Shilpa Arora | Policy Analyst | Office of Drug Policy and Science, Controlled Substances Directorate, Opioid Response Team, Health Canada |
| Cynthia Bakerb | Executive Director | CASN |
| Janet Cooperb | Executive Director | AFPC |
| Alexandra Wrightb | Executive Director | CASWE-ACFTS (ex-officio) |
aEducation Working Group Members.
bManagement Committee Members.
| Name | Title | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Feng Chang | University of Waterloo | Co-Lead (pharmacy) |
| Dr. Michael Beazely | University of Waterloo | Co-Lead (pharmacy) |
| Dr. Shelley Walkerley | York University | Content Expert (nursing) |
| Dr. Colleen McMillan | University of Waterloo | Content Expert (social work) |
| Dr. Kelly Grindrod | University of Waterloo | Team Member |
| Ms. Rosemary Killeen | University of Waterloo | Team Member |
| Dr. Rita Dhami | University of Waterloo | Team Member |
| Center for Extended Learning | University of Waterloo | Instructional design and web development |
The co-leads provide supervision on project development and aid in compiling updated pharmacy content for the e-resource. Dr. Chang and Dr. Beazely are both faculty members with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy.
Dr. Walkerley provides nursing insight to content creation to reflect entry-level Registered Nurse (RN) and Nurse Practitioner (NP) guidelines and standards. Dr. Walkerley is an RN in the Extended Class and Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing at York University, and has been a practicing Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner (PHCNP) in Ontario since 1998 and faculty in the PHCNP program in the province since 2001.
Dr. McMillan provides a social service perspective to the created content, learning materials and tools so that the e-resource is up-to-date and applicable to Social Work professionals. Dr. McMillan is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, School of Social Work. She teaches inter-disciplinarily and currently teaches social work and pharmacy undergraduate and graduate students. Her clinical practice includes individuals and families impacted by opioids and opioid overdoses.
Dr. Grindrod provides input on pharmacy content and development for videos, infographics and/or prescribing tools for the e-resource. Dr. Grindrod is a faculty member with the School of Pharmacy, clinical pharmacist at the Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre, and a specialist in digital medication management in healthcare.
Ms. Killeen assists in the creation of learning content and tools. Ms. Killeen is the Director, Distance Education and Continuing Professional Development at the University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist at the Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre. Her background includes community pharmacy practice, health program management, as well as experience in medical writing and publishing.
Dr. Dhami aids in the content and tool creation of the e-resource. Dr. Dhami is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy. Dr. Dhami is a practicing pharmacist, educator and researcher. She maintains a clinical role at the London Health Sciences Centre.
CEL is responsible for the design and creation of the e-resource. The CEL team currently works with the faculties at the University of Waterloo to provide world-class online educational options. The Centre has in-depth experience in evidence-based online learning design, user experience design, eLearning content development, website development, copyright, accessibility and quality assurance.