Substance Abuse Education for Nurse Anesthetists: Differences in Knowledge of Substance Abuse between Student Nurse Anesthetists who have Completed a Substance Abuse Workshop and those who have Not

The purpose of this study was to determine whether student nurse anesthetists who took a substance abuse workshop had more knowledge of substance abuse than those who did not take the workshop. The problem of substance abuse among members of the medical professions has been known for at least a century. However, there are little documentation and few articles that exist providing evidence to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), practitioners, administrators, faculty, or students in anesthesia that substance abuse education provided in workshops or through the curriculum enhances the knowledge of student nurse anesthetists. Many program administrators assume that a substance abuse curriculum has been introduced during their undergraduate studies. In fact, an average of only 3 hr is dedicated to the subject of substance abuse during undergraduate studies. A study was done to determine if a substance abuse workshop enhanced the knowledge of student nurse anesthetists. Test scores of those who took the workshop were compared to those who did not take the workshop in order to assess current knowledge. It was concluded from this study that there was a difference between those who took the substance abuse workshop and those who did not take the workshop. A two-tailed t test was performed on the average test grades between the groups. The workshop was found to be an effective tool, though not exclusive, for the dissemination of substance abuse information to student nurse anesthetists. Since Knowles’ adult education philosophy was used for presentation of the workshop, it was determined that this methodology was appropriate for the delivery of information. Finally, it was concluded that the lack of substance abuse education in the undergraduate and graduate nursing curriculum still remains evident. It is recommended that the NCADA substance abuse workshop can be added to the curriculum. The previous educational experience for nurse anesthetists concerning the topic of substance abuse was limited. It is recommended that additional research focusing on substance abuse and the nurse anesthetist continue. The addition of a substance abuse workshop to the curriculum is beneficial.