In Brief: St. David’s School of Nursing takes pledge on opioid education

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
Office of Media Relations
May 9, 2016

As part of ongoing efforts to combat prescription drug and opioid abuse across the United States, the St. David’s School of Nursing at Texas State University has committed to educating its advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

The commitment was featured in a White House fact sheet as part of the White House Champions of Change event on advancing prevention, treatment and recovery. Earlier in April, the administration asked the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) member schools with APRN programs to partner on this initiative.

“We support this initiative and commend our national nursing leaders for partnering to provide educational resources for all APRN students to deal with prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder,” said Marla Erbin-Roesemann, director of the St. David’s School of Nursing. “This is one of many areas in which these future health care providers will be challenged to provide the safest, best possible outcomes for their patients.”

Faculty in the St. David’s School of Nursing recognized that opioid abuse is a pressing public health crisis, and it was critical that APRN students receive education on current standards. A total of 191 AACN member nursing schools have taken the pledge.

“AACN is proud of the rapid response by our membership when the Administration called to help ensure future generations of providers who prescribe opioids for chronic pain are prepared for the critical work ahead,” said AACN President and CEO Deborah Trautman. “We commend academic nursing’s dedication to ensuring our nation’s future providers are prepared to address opioid abuse and overdose using best practices.”