Category: Psychology
Posts by Jano Klimas about talking therapies, counselling, counselling research and psychosocial interventions.
Male Pain and Alcohol
Pain is a universal experience across people of all genders. How do we know when something hurts inside? It keeps coming back; first, it disrupts, then colors all aspects of everyday life. There are many shades of emotional hurt that can be emotionally crippling. Anger, grief and jealousy – are all hurtful emotional states. They are experienced and can be a part of our life for years. How we manage these painful experiences as men can be a challenge. While recent studies suggest sexes don’t feel pain the same way, the evidence on sex differences in pain is mixed and potential biopsychosocial factors may play a role. To read the full text please visit Dr Matt Modrcin’s blog
Can prescribers avoid contributing to opioid use disorder?
A 21 y/o has surgery for a condition expected to improve. He fills a discharge prescription for 5 days of an opioid at a standard dose. At 1-week follow-up with his family doctor for suture removal, he describes ongoing pain. Can prescribers avoid contributing to opioid use disorder? Is a renewal of opioid appropriate, potentially dangerous, or both? Read more …
Can prescribers avoid contributing to opioid use disorder?
Hospital based opioid agonist treatment
Researchers recently found that many people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders are admitted to inpatient psychiatric units. According to a 2019 report from the Boston’s Institute for Healthcare Improvement and The Grayken Center, “hospitals have the opportunity to make a major impact in reducing morbidity and mortality related to opioid use.” The present study, therefore, looked at patients admitted to an acute care hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. It sought to improve our understanding of this population and the care provided so that we can improve patients’ outcomes and care experiences.
Six strategies to optimize substance use care #ccmhc2019
Dr. Evan Wood spoke at the 20th Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care Conference #ccmhc2019 in Richmond on strategies to optimize substance use care and treatment in British Columbia. (more…)
Hospital teaching team keeps fighting opioid crisis
Which student learns best with hospital teams fighting opioid crisis? Understanding how students learn is perhaps the most important way to improve addiction training.
In a new article published by the Substance Abuse journal, we report findings suggesting that the completion of an elective with a hospital-based Addiction Medicine Consult Team appeared to improve knowledge of medical students more than of other types of students. Read more below or listen to the podcast.
Firstly, we found that both emerging and established physicians appear to be responsive to this type of training. Secondly, the learner self-assessment can provide valuable feedback to the consultants. Then, consultants can focus more on the students who learn less.
Keep fighting opioid crisis through training
The study sample was drawn from medical students, residents and physicians who took part in a month-long rotation with a hospital-based addiction medicine consult team in Vancouver, Canada. The addiction rotation includes full-time clinical training involving intake assessment and treatment planning. And referrals to community agencies and starting people on evidence-based medications for substance use disorders. The students take part in didactic lectures, bedside teaching, journal clubs and some prepare papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals. Each year, about 80 learners go through the program. Furthermore, learners rate their knowledge before and after the training.
At the end, all learners reported increased knowledge. One group, however, learned more than the others – the medical students. This two-year study confirms that a structured clinical training program can lead to an increased knowledge on addiction and that medical students benefit from it the most.
For more info read the full article at:
Gorfinkel, L., Klimas, J., Ahamad, K., Mead, A., McLean, M., Fairgrieve, C., Nolan, S., Small, W., Cullen, W., Wood, E., Fairbairn, N. (2019) In-hospital training in addiction medicine: A mixed methods study of health care provider benefits and differences. Substance Abuse (Published online Jan 28) doi: 10.1080/08897077.2018.1561596
If interested, you can also read: What can hospital teams teach medical students about addiction to help curb the opioid overdose epidemic?
Hospital teaching teams confront iatrogenic opioid addiction
Or visit a post that talks about this research as it was presented at the Canadian Society for Addiction Medicine link here