The course consists of eight modules which explore opioid use, misuse, and management.
The Opioid Education Partnership, a new continuing education course for pharmacists and physicians, received an award from the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE). The award was earned in the category “Non-credit Programming under 48 Hours” and acknowledges the value of course content and the innovation of information delivery.
The Opioid Education Partnership was developed by a team of healthcare researchers that included faculty and staff from the School of Pharmacy and the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) at the University of Waterloo. It aims to enhance healthcare providers’ understanding of prescription opioid use and to promote collaboration in opioid management.
Opioids are medications commonly prescribed to help patients manage pain. They have been the object of much discussion as illicit opioid use and opioid-related overdoses have risen substantially in recent years. Thus, the course is a timely resource to help pharmacists and physicians collaborate to respond to this ongoing health crisis. The course blends a variety of teaching methods and contains interactive activities.
The program is fully online and will be open to pharmacists and physicians when it is officially launched. Course authors are School of Pharmacy faculty and staff Feng Chang, Rosemary Killeen, and Tejal Patel, and physician Agnes Kluz from the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health. The course was developed by CEL with the support of Health Canada funding.
This is the second year in a row that a program developed by CEL with School of Pharmacy representatives has won this award. The Drug-Nutrient Interactions program won the same award in 2016.
Congratulations to the Opioid Education Partnership team!